Ahead of the Dec.23 (Sunday) general elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, four former African Presidents have expressed high hopes of recording huge success in the exercise.
They also disclosed that it was their belief that the elections “should be used as a unifying force to bring the people of the country together and rekindle hope for its citizens that have fled the country.”
The former African leaders made this known in a statement issued at a High-Level Working Group Meeting on “Mitigating Disruptive Applications of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the Electoral Process in Africa,” which took place at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta Nigeria, between, December 18-19.
The statement, which was signed by former Presidents, including,
H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo,
Nigeria, H.E. Ernest Koroma,
Sierra Leone, H.E. John Mahama
Ghana and H.E. Raila Odinga of
Kenya also enjoined all candidates to caution their supporters “against violence and voter intimidation and appeal to the incumbent to support a free, fair and credible election.
“We are impelled by the dictum that “solutions to Africa’s problems must be provided largely by Africans themselves” in urging all stakeholders in the election process including political parties, the candidates, the electorate and the election management body to be part of the success story of the elections.
“We urge the citizens to exercise their rights to vote in a peaceful and orderly manner and request the Congolese security services to respond to any public protests within the law.
“We recommend that the African Union, South African Development Community (SADC), the UN Security Council (UNSC), the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) and the European Union work together during the next few days to create a joint situation room to monitor the situation in DRC and respond quickly to any untoward event that will compromise the credibility of the elections.
The former leaders further remarked that “having watched recent political developments in DRC with keen interest, we are confident the good people of DRC will not allow the doom on the December 23 elections as feared by some in the international community to pervade and break on a great country like the DRC in the African continent.
“We stand by you in prayers and have high expectations of huge success of the general elections.”
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The full statement.
Statement on the 2018 General Elections of the Democratic Republic of Congo
At the December 18-19, 2018 High-Level Working Group Meeting on “Mitigating Disruptive Applications of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the Electoral Process in Africa,” which took place at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta Nigeria, it was noted that the 2018 General Elections of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are scheduled to be held on Sunday, December 23, 2018.
We have high hopes that the elections will be free, fair and credible.These attributes will be earned only by strict adherence to the provisions of the Constitution of DRC relevant to the general elections as well as the provisions of the relevant electoral laws.
It is our belief that the elections should be used as a unifying force to bring the people of the country together and rekindle hope for its citizens that have fled the country.
We enjoin all candidates to caution their supporters against violence and voter intimidation and appeal to the incumbent to support a free, fair and credible election.
We are impelled by the dictum that “solutions to Africa’s problems must be provided largely by Africans themselves” in urging all stakeholders in the election process including political parties, the candidates, the electorate and the election management body to be part of the success story of the elections. We urge the citizens to exercise their rights to vote in a peaceful and orderly manner and request the Congolese security services to respond to any public protests within the law.
We recommend that the African Union, South African Development Community (SADC), the UN Security Council (UNSC), the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) and the European Union work together during the next few days to create a joint situation room to monitor the situation in DRC and respond quickly to any untoward event that will compromise the credibility of the elections. Having watched recent political developments in DRC with keen interest, we are confident the good people of DRC will not allow the doom on the December 23 elections as feared by some in the international community to pervade and break on a great country like the DRC in the African continent.
We stand by you in prayers and have high expectations of huge success of the general elections.
H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo
Nigeria H.E. Ernest Koroma
Sierra Leone H.E. John Mahama
Ghana H.E. Raila Odinga
Kenya
December 19, 2018