Protests erupted yesterday in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital after incumbent Joseph Kabila was named the election winner and rival Etienne Tshisekedi rejected the result, declaring himself President.

Gunshots rang out in Kinshasa’s eastern neighbourhood of Limete, where Mr Tshisekedi has his party headquarters, and in the central neighbourhood of Bandale, where protesters set tyres on fire and threw stones amid a heavy contingent of armed policemen who fired tear gas to disperse them.

There were also reports of some looting and at least one person was shot and wounded near Bandale.

The unrest was limited to specific areas, but calls poured in from the international community for peace and restraint in the restive central African country, where analysts had warned the November 28 elections risked unleashing new violence and bloodshed.

Mr Kabila, who has been in power since 2001, secured 49 percent of the vote while Mr Tshisekedi mustered 32.3 per cent of the result, according to the provisional voting results announced by the election commission after a marathon 11-day wait.

“I consider this (result) declaration an outright provocation to our people and I reject it in full. As a result, I consider myself from this day on as the elected president of the country,” Mr Tshisekedi said.