Election officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have said Monday's parliamentary and presidential elections will go ahead as planned. There had been fears the vote would be delayed because of violence between supporters of rival candidates and logistical difficulties. At least three people were killed on Saturday, leading police to ban final campaign rallies. International organisations have appealed for calm ahead of the vote. Election officials have been scrambling to get ballot papers distributed to all 60,000 of the polling stations in a country which is about two-thirds the size of Western Europe. "Our teams assure us that things are going well and that the polling stations will open tomorrow on time," said Daniel Ngoy Mulunda, the head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI). "There will be no postponement." The elections see 11 candidates running for president and more than 18,000 candidates for the 500-seat parliament. It will be the second presidential poll since the 1998-2003 war. Airport delay News agencies said at least three people were killed in violence in Kinshasa on Saturday. Supporters of the main presidential rivals, opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi and incumbent President Joseph Kabila, gathered for rallies that had been scheduled near to each other. Scuffles erupted and police fired tear gas and live ammunition to break up the crowds. Police later delayed Mr Tshisekedi at Kinshasa's airport until late on Saturday forcing him to miss his final rally. A number of officials from Mr Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) were reported to have been roughed up or arrested. Mr Tshisekedi called on his supporters to rally later on Sunday, despite electoral laws against campaigning on the day before the vote. The European Union observer mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo criticised both the police and the various candidates over the pre-election violence. Delaying Mr Tshisekedi from leaving the airport had been "a serious impediment" to his right to campaign, the mission said. "The mission deplores the chaotic and improvised management of the last political meetings by many presidential candidates, by the Kinshasa authorities which restrained freedom of opinion, meetings and demonstrations," it added. The United Nations too, criticised the security forces. "The security forces should refrain from any acts that could heighten tensions and create any difficulties on the eve of elections," Reuters news agency quoted Mounoubai Madnodje, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission in DR Congo, as saying. The chairman of the African Union, Jean Ping, also expressed his concerns. In a press release issued on Sunday, he said he "deplores the violence that took place in Kinshasa, which resulted in loss of life, as well as the various other incidents that marred the election campaign". Mr Tshisekedi accused the head of the UN 20,000-strong peacekeeping mission in Congo, American diplomat Roger Meece, of favouring the Kabila government. "The international community has supported [in Congo] Africa's worst dictatorships for 51 years," Reuters quoted him as saying, adding he wanted Mr Meece to step down. The last election, in 2006, was marred by weeks of street battles led by supporters of the losing candidate. The BBC's correspondent in Kinshasa, Will Ross, said whether it is peaceful or not this time will depend to a great extent on the behaviour of the candidates and whether the losers are willing to accept defeat.