Kinshasa, Congo ? Incumbent President Joseph Kabila was declared the winner Wednesday of Congo’s tense runoff election, defeating his rival and ex-rebel leader, Jean-Pierre Bemba, in the country’s first multiparty contest in more than four decades.

Kabila won with about 58 percent of the vote, compared with nearly 42 percent for Bemba, said Apollinaire Malu Malu, chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission.

Bemba has disputed results from the Oct. 29 vote and his forces fought police and troops loyal to Kabila on Saturday for several hours in the capital, Kinshasa, leaving three civilians and one soldier dead. Earlier Wednesday, Bemba’s fighters refused a request by U.N. peacekeepers to return to military barracks in the city.

Bemba’s home was silent, as was most of this capital of nearly 7 million people, where he enjoys massive support and Kabila is largely disliked.

The U.N. mission deployed tanks onto Kinshasa’s streets Wednesday, part of stepped-up security across Kinshasa that has also included a greater presence of European peacekeepers and police.