Although today's Kinshasa press offers no major piece of information, the front pages feature a variety of stories.

Echoing reports by Western diplomats warning that there are "too many weapons circulate[ing] in Kinshasa", with "fresh [weapon] shipments imminent", Le Potentiel laments how "the Congolese, [being] always naïve, are the only ones who don't see the danger at their country's gates."

Quoting "[s]ome Western diplomats [as saying that are] uncertain [about] the outcomes of the electoral process," Le Potentiel fears that "[d]espite the presence of 17,600 UN peacekeepers and some 1,000 EU troops, there is no guarantee of [peace during] and after the elections".

After troops loyal to Joseph Kabila and Jean-Pierre Bemba, clashed in Kinshasa shortly after the release of results from the first round of presidential polls, the two contenders in the upcoming second round pledged not only "to contribute to a peaceful election [but also] respect the ballot results," recalls Le Potentiel, adding however that Kabila and Bemba "have yet to honour their commitment to confine their troops to barracks".

In other news, Le Phare holds that there will be "neither a prime minister nor a government prior to January 2007". In support of that view, the daily points out that "parliamentary majority will only be formed by elected members of the National Assembly and of the Senate." Moreover, the paper adds, "[t]he inauguration of the Senate is only scheduled for January 2007, according to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)'s updated timetable."

Thus, "the government that the new elected president will appoint [after] he takes office on 10 December 2006, will be not be one emerging from the ballot box," Le Phare notes. Rather, what "the Congolese will have in the days to come is a government that is composed of elected members as well as dignitaries from the previous 1+4 system minus the four vice-presidents," Le Phare concludes.

Until then, "the facts point to Joseph Kabila's victory in the presidential runoff, barring [his challenger using some kind of] magic power," according to L'Avenir. Since all "the big vote-winning candidates have joined [Kabila's] Presidential Majority Alliance [AMP], Jean-Pierre Bemba [and his] Union for the Nation [coalition should not hope for] a miracle; [in fact, he may even] fall below the 25 percent that he received the first [presidential election] round," L'Avenir says.

Mobutu Nzanga, who came fourth in the first round, is quoted by L'Observateur as describing "his party's alliance with AMP as a historic act." For Nzanga, son of late president Mobutu Sese Seko, "Politics is about compromise...and what [really] matters is one's ability to overcome [past] wounds and bring together the great historical currents," according to L'Observateur.

Le Potentiel reports fresh fighting in eastern DRC's Ituri district between government forces (FARDC) and members of the local Forces de résistance patriotiques (FRPI) militia led by a man known as Cobra Matata. The fighting left "twelve militiamen and two FARDC soldiers dead and seven wounded."