KINSHASA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi has won the presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to interim results proclaimed early Thursday morning by the electoral commission.

Felix Tshisekedi, leader of Congolese main opposition party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), attends a news conference in Nairobi, Kenya November 23, 2018. (File photo: VCG)

According to the electoral commission, Tshisekedi, candidate of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), has collected more than 7 million votes cast in the elections across the country, with the exception of three cities where polls were not conducted for safety reasons.

Tshisekedi ran ahead of Martin Fayulu of the "Lamuka" coalition, and far ahead of Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, candidate for the ruling coalition.

The final results will be proclaimed in the coming days according to a new timetable after confirmation of these provisional results by the Constitutional Court in accordance with the DRC's national law.

Tshisekedi inherited the presidency of the UDPS after the death of his father Etienne Tshisekedi, the first opposition leader in the DRC's history.