DR CONGO TO REVEAL POLL RESULTS

Joseph Kabila has a clear lead over rival Jean-Pierre Bemba. The people of the Democratic Republic of Congo are awaiting the results of landmark presidential and parliamentary polls which were held on 30 July.
Partial results show President Joseph Kabila as having a clear lead over nearest rival Jean-Pierre Bemba.
But he seems to have failed to win the 50% majority needed to avoid a run-off.
One person died in Kinshasa in a gun battle reported to be between Mr Bemba's bodyguards and police. Local and UN forces are on alert.
The election is the first democratic poll to be held in the country since gaining independence in 1960.
The BBC's Africa correspondent Peter Greste says Congolese people have been crowding around television sets waiting for the electoral commission to release the presidential vote results.

DR CONGO POLLS

32 presidential candidates
9,709 parliamentary candidates
25.6m voters
50,000 polling stations
260,000 electoral staff

Long wait for results
War haunts the east
Reporters' log
Full results had been expected to be broadcast on state television at 2000 local time (1900 GMT).
The delay seems to be the result of the a gun battle that broke out barely an hour before the scheduled announcement, our correspondent says.
This was reported to have taken place between security forces loyal to Mr Kabila and bodyguards protecting his rival, the vice-president and former rebel commander, Mr Bemba.
Figures compiled by the AFP news agency, based on district results published by the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) suggest Mr Kabila has 47% of the vote.
Mr Bemba - a former rebel leader and vice-president in the transitional government - appears to have 18% nationwide, but a larger share of the vote in the capital, Kinshasa, and other western areas.
"A second round seems certain," European Union election observer Jean-Michel Dumont told AFP.
Some observers believe a second round could help stave off violence that may have greeted an outright win by Mr Kabila, particularly in the capital Kinshasa given the strong support for Mr Bemba there.
"Tension would have been very high without a second round," a Western diplomat told AFP.
The first round of voting, involving 25m voters, was the most expensive poll the UN had ever run, and a second round is also expected to be a costly and difficult exercise.
Protection needed
Police were jeered in some neighbourhoods of Kinshasa, where many voters regard the police as the president's private militia, BBC French Service correspondent Said Penda reports from the capital.
CEI chairman Rev Appolinaire Malu-Malu has become one of the most heavily guarded men in the country, and never travels without armed bodyguards, our correspondent says.
There are also fears of violence in the central town of Mbuji-Mayi, a stronghold of veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi whose UDPS party boycotted the elections.
Many of the presidential candidates have complained of "massive irregularities" in the vote count.
Neighbouring Angola - Mr Kabila's strongest regional ally - has confirmed sending extra troops to the border but called it a routine security procedure.
Three TV stations have been suspended for 24 hours after broadcasting images that could incite violence.
One is a state channel and another is owned by Mr Bemba.
So far the elections have gone remarkably smoothly bearing in mind Congo has been in turmoil for decades, says BBC Africa analyst David Bamford.
The polls are meant to put an end to a transition process established after five years of war that ended in 2003.

BBC NEWS REPORT.