UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Monday joined European Union monitors in welcoming the "peaceful" run-off elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a spokeswoman said according to Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa. "The secretary general is pleased that voters were able to cast their ballots in a generally free and calm environment, although he is concerned at the violent incidents that took place in Equateur province and near Bunia and Ituri district," UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said. A soldier shot dead two election helpers at a polling centre in Ituri early Monday morning, a MONUC spokesperson said. The soldier was immediately arrested. Relatives of the victims attacked a number of other polling centres. Despite the incident, vote counting after Sunday's election had proceeded peacefully, the MONUC spokesperson said. The EU deployed a military mission of 2,000 personnel to monitor the elections, while UN peacekeepers provided security. Annan praised Congo's President Laurent Kabila and Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, the two presidential candidates, for maintaining calm and security during the electoral period. Final results of Sunday's vote are to be announced by November 19.
