Brussels, 30/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - In a press release commenting on last Sunday's presidential elections, EU Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel said he was delighted to have had confidence in the election process in the Democratic Republic of Congo right from the start, and also in the Congolese people. More than 25 million voters went to the polls to choose between the two remaining candidates in the second round of the presidential elections, outgoing President Joseph Kabila and Jean-Pierre Bemba. They also voted to select provincial representatives for the next five years. The tension at the start of the presidential electoral campaign did not lead to any serious incidents on Sunday but awaiting the outcome of the first round, there were violent conflicts between supporters of the two candidates in which a number of people died, which sparked fears of further violence. The counting process has started and provisional results are expected to be published on 19 November. Louis Michel said that the elections had brought the Congo irreversibly into the final phase of transition and had provided a genuine opportunity to kick-start development, restore democratic governance and restore peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sunday's vote had confirmed the maturity and serenity of the Congolese people, as demonstrated on 31 July 2006 (see EUROPE 9243), added Michel, who said he was now counting on the whole of the population and the political class to respect the outcome of the elections in a climate of tolerance and peace in the interests of the country's development. (ab)