Congo’s top court rejected election fraud claims and confirmed Felix Tshisekedi as its new president, sparking fears of further violence across the country.

As Mr Tshisekedi’s supporters celebrated in the streets, runner-up Martin Fayulu dismissed the court ruling, claiming it had paved the way for a “constitutional coup d’etat”.

The rival candidate claimed the election had been rigged and filed a legal challenge, however it was ruled as inadmissible by the Democratic Republic of Congo's Constitutional Court on Sunday.

Mr Tshisekedi, who received 38 per cent of the vote, had not been widely considered the leading candidate.

However the electoral commission’s results showed him winning with a slim margin over Mr Fayulu, who received 34 per cent of the vote.

Mr Fayulu claims that Mr Tshisekedi and outgoing president Joseph Kabila made a deal to cheat him out of a more than 60 per cent win – an accusation they both refute.

In a statement dismissing the court ruling, Mr Fayulu said: “The constitutional court has just confirmed that it serves a dictatorial regime...by validating false results, [and enabling] a constitutional coup d’etat.”

Congo presidential election opposition candidate Martin Fayulu. (AP)

“I am now considering myself as the sole legitimate president of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he added in another statement.

Mr Fayulu called for people to mount peaceful demonstrations across the country.

Inside the Congo camp haunted by an unknown war Show all 10 1 /10 Inside the Congo camp haunted by an unknown war Inside the Congo camp haunted by an unknown war Mave Grace and her sister Rachele-Ngabausi fled their village with their father to an internally displaced camp in Bunia Reuters Inside the Congo camp haunted by an unknown war According to witnesses, militiamen killed her pregnant mother, her three brothers and injured her two-year-old sister Reuters Inside the Congo camp haunted by an unknown war Refugees in the camp must huddle together for warmth under makeshift tents during regular rainy season downpowers Reuters Inside the Congo camp haunted by an unknown war Rachele-Ngabausi bears a scar that runs from the bottom of her left cheek, past the inside of her left eye and up her forehead Reuters Inside the Congo camp haunted by an unknown war During the attack, Mave Grace saw men with machetes cutting open their pregnant mother’s belly and killing the unborn child Reuters Inside the Congo camp haunted by an unknown war When Grace woke she was surrounded by dead bodies. Her left hand was cut off just above the wrist, and it is still healing Reuters Inside the Congo camp haunted by an unknown war The girls’ father, Nyine Richard, says he does ‘not know how to live anymore’ and has ‘lost all hope’ Reuters Inside the Congo camp haunted by an unknown war Their camp is a sea of makeshift blue and white tarpaulin tents. Many spend their days praying together for a way out Reuters Inside the Congo camp haunted by an unknown war Not even two-year-old Rachele-Ngabausi was spared the violence when attackers came into her village at night wielding machetes Reuters Inside the Congo camp haunted by an unknown war The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR expects 200,000 refugees to reach Uganda from the Ituri region this year Reuters

Unrest over the vote has already killed 34 people, wounded 59 and led to 241 “arbitrary arrests” in the past week, according to the UN human rights office.

In a speech, Mr Tshisekedi welcomed the victory and said he would seek to mend divisions in the country.

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“This is the end of one fight and the start of another in which I will enlist all the Congolese people: a fight for well-being, for a Congo that wins,” he said.

“Tomorrow the Congo we will build will not be a Congo of hate, tribalism and division.”

Independent monitors had flagged major problems with the election, including faulty voting machines and polling stations where many were unable to vote.

The Catholic Church, which had a 40,000-strong team of observers, denounced the provisional result.

In a rare intervention, the African Union (AU) called for final results to be postponed, citing “serious doubts” about the election's credibility.

Congo rejected that request on Friday.