"Elikia" means hope in Lingala and there is much of it throughout the country.

BBC: Failed state: Can DR Congo recover?

He speaks the official national language, French, poorly and the unofficial one, Lingala, not at all.

ECONOMIST: Kabila is dead, long live Kabila

But voting was largely on ethnic and linguistic lines, with the Swahili-speaking east voting for Mr Kabila and the Lingala-speaking west largely rejecting him.

ECONOMIST: Congo

Since both men are from Lingala-speaking western Congo, they may succeed in adding a chunk of western votes to Mr Kabila's Swahili-speaking eastern support (the voting in July was mainly on ethnic and linguistic lines).

ECONOMIST: The speeches are fierce, the times are tense