The polls were boycotted by the veteran opposition leader, Étienne Tshisekedi, and his party Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UPDS), who complained of fraud.

While the election was conducted relatively peacefully, the collection of the results proved chaotic, leading to armed clashes and growing fears of instability.

On that day, voters went to the polls to vote in: On 15 November, the CEI released its full provisional results for the presidential election's second round, indicating that Joseph Kabila had won with 58.05 percent.

"[8] Presumed supporters of Étienne Tshisekedi burned polling stations and voting materials in the city of Mbuji-Mayi, capital of East Kasai province, on Sunday to prevent the elections being held.

In one raid, "agents of the special police" stormed a Christian television station, arresting a pastor critical of the political process, beating technicians and destroying the broadcasting equipment.

[14] The EU began sending more peacekeeping troops to Kinshasa and MONUC chief Swing called for an immediate ceasefire.

[21] Later in the day, Interior Minister Theophile Mbemba Fundu placed the death toll for the week at 23 killed, 43 injured.

[23] Later in the day, police fired shots in the air to disperse angry crowds demanding that two of Bemba's television stations be reopened.

[28] On 30 August, MONUC announced that the meeting resulted in the establishment of two joint sub-commissions, one to conduct an independent investigation of the clashes, and the other to devise rules which will prevent violence from recurring during 29 October run-off election.

[30][31] MONUC reported that on 3 August, on the third day of "chaotic poll-counting, a suspicious fire at a major Kinshasa election center deepened concerns over the transparency of the results.

"[33] Nkunda, who remained the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by the DRC government "for alleged atrocities against civilians committed since 2004," expressed a willingness to negotiate with the winner of the election, but also, determination to resist any military attack.

MONUC spokesperson reported that the peacekeeping force had begun patrolling in the area and that fighting has become limited to isolated incidents.

[35] On 12 August, the DRC Independent Electoral Commission announced that six poll officials have been arrested for attempting to falsify the election results.

The Angolan army's Deputy Chief of Staff, General Geraldo Sachipendo Nunda, said that these were steps taken "to ensure the security of our borders," although it was speculated that Angola was preparing to intervene, if the need arose, in favor of Kabila.

[40] On 17 August, the UN began investigating a suspected child prostitution ring involving UN peacekeepers and members of the DRC army.

[41] Also on 17 August, MONUC chief William Lacy Swing, warned against hate messages in local Bemba-run media which called on Congolese to target white people and foreigners.

[43] In response, the Congolese High Authority on Media suspended the RTAE and CCTV (owned by Bemba) television stations for twenty-four hours.

There were reports of automatic gunfire in Kinshasa, and MLC representatives accused Kabila's Republican Guard of killing one of its men and injuring three policemen.

[57] On 29 October, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (which a day earlier had condemned police violence against its correspondent[58]) reported that despite delays in the Kinshasa area, caused by heavy rains, voting was "running smoothly in most other parts of the DRC.

[60] Carter Center chief observer, former Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark, stated that "attempted manipulation of the electoral process, while very serious in a few cases, appear at this point to be isolated and unlikely to affect the overall success of the vote.

[62][63] MONUC stated later in the day that "the situation has returned to calm and voting operations are taking place normally throughout Equateur."

[67] The head of the CEI, Apollinaire Malumalu, warned on 1 November against releasing partial preliminary results to prevent the same violent clashes which followed during the election's first round.

[76] On 8 September, the CEI released the results, revealing that no single party gained the 251 seats needed to secure a majority.

[79] After being declared winner, Kabila hinted that Bemba would play a role in the new government, stating that "the effort now must be nation building, it must be reconstruction.

"[80] Bemba, who boycotted the hearings after the Supreme Court refused to consider further challenges over alleged "systematic cheating", was not immediately available for comment.

[81] On 28 November, Bemba released a statement saying that while he condemns the ruling, he accepts the results and is prepared to lead a "strong republican opposition in the interests of the nation".

According to Interior Minister Denis Kalume, "armed men who infiltrated the demonstrators opened fire on the police and from then everything went haywire."

[100] On 25 November, forces loyal to General Laurent Nkunda engaged more than 2,000 soldiers against the DRC army 11th Brigade around the town of Sake (near Goma), Nord-Kivu.

MONUC spokesperson said that by morning "there were still some shots, but calm was mostly restored," and that Nkunda forces had retreated back and "all of the 11th Brigades's positions are under control,"[101][102] On 26 November, MONUC reported that it had clashed with Nkunda's forces who were moving toward Goma, stating: "we fired warning shots from attack helicopters and our troops on the ground have engaged them in Sake.

[105] On 24 November, three days after the fire, the Supreme Court resumed its activities in a small, heavily guarded room in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.