Voters in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have overwhelmingly chosen to adopt a new post-war constitution which paves the way for national elections next year, according to referendum results announced today.
With counting completed from nearly three quarters of polling stations after last Sunday's poll, the "Yes" vote had won 83 per cent, while the "No" vote had nearly 17 per cent, the Independent Electoral Commission said.
The December 18 vote on whether to accept the proposed constitution was the first independent election to be held in the Congo for more than 40 years, a period during which the vast central African country suffered dictatorship, wars and chaos.
Independent Electoral Commission President Apollinaire Malu Malu told reporters the electoral body was still counting the outstanding votes and added the Supreme Court would have to certify the final results and deal with any complaints.
But as the results stood so far, the "Yes" vote lead seemed unassailable.
International observers said Sunday's referendum was free and fair. But the opposition has said there was irregularities and protested over the detention by police last week of a spokesman for the "No" campaign.
President Joseph Kabila, who became head of state after his father Laurent was assassinated in 2001, had called for a big "Yes" vote for the constitution, saying its rejection would be disastrous for the country's peace process.
About 25 million people registered to vote in the referendum and for subsequent local, parliamentary and presidential elections, which under a peace deal must be held by next June.
Successful elections are seen as the key to consolidating peace in the mineral-rich country, which is the size of Western Europe but lacks even the most basic infrastructure in most areas.
Thousands of gunmen still terrorise civilians in the east and the United Nations has its biggest peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo.