Free, fair DRC polls sought
‘End Africa wars’
NEW YORK, Oct 13, (KUNA): The State of Kuwait expressed its support towards a transparent and fair election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Dec 23, 2018, said a senior Kuwaiti diplomat late Thursday. Speaking during a UNSC session regarding the upcoming elections in DRC, Kuwait permanent representative to the UN headquarters in New York Ambassador Mansour AlOtaibi hoped that the parties involved in the election would abide by the political agreement reached on Dec 31, 2016.
According to the UNSC, the agreement would encourage the government in Congo “to organize peaceful, credible, inclusive and timely elections.”
During the UNSC delegation visit to the DRC on Oct 7-8 of this year, the council had witnessed a vast improvement in the political atmosphere in the Congo and hopefully such great achievement would be reflected during the upcoming elections, said AlOtaibi who called on all parties to overcome any obstacles in the way of the elections’ success.
He added that the continuation of the unstable humanitarian situation in the Congo, the spread of Ebola virus, which killed over 120 individuals since Aug 1, and armed conflicts west of the country, required from the Congolese government to speed up the process of elections to address all the challenges.
Al-Otaibi praised the efforts by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region Said Djinnit, the African Union (AU) and other entities for their efforts to bring stability in the DRC.
He called on all regional and international bodies to support the AU’s 2020 goal to end armed conflicts in Africa and bolster welfare in the continent.