The assessment was Kabila's first public statement since the bitterly disputed November 28 vote, whose outcome sparked violent protests in the capital and was criticised by international observers and the country's powerful church."Were there mistakes, errors? Definitely, like in any other election, be it on the continent or otherwise," Kabila, in power since 2001, told a news conference in Kinshasa with journalists including the BBC.
"But does it put in doubt the credibility of the elections? I don't think so," he added. In a damning report on the polls, international observers from the Carter Center, a non-profit group founded by former US president Jimmy Carter
... the worst president ever. Maybe the second worst. The votes aren't all in yet...
, said Saturday the counting process was so flawed the results "lack credibility".
Kabila said Monday he rejected that assessment. "The credibility of these elections cannot be put in doubt," he said.
But the polls got another scathing review Monday from the National Episcopal Conference of the Congo, the country's Catholic bishops' council, which deployed some 30,000 observers nationwide, the largest monitoring group on voting day.