President Ramaphosa joins leaders in assessing DRC

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

President Cyril Ramaphosa will later today depart for Ethiopia where he will attend the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Double Troika Summit.

The summit, which takes place on Thursday, will review and assess the political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following the recently held elections, the Presidency said on Wednesday.

Last week the DRC electoral commission, CENI, released provisional results which declared opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi Tshilombo as the newly elected President.

Election candidate runner-up and opposition leader Martin Fayulu is contesting the election results and has appealed to the DRC’s Constitutional Court to cancel the provisional result.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) also joined Fayulu and disputed the interim results.

South Africa called on the UNSC to be at the forefront of the provision of support to the Congolese authorities to maintain a peaceful and stable environment following these landmark elections, and to discourage any violence following the conclusion of the electoral process.

Meanwhile, the Presidency said the SADC Summit will later be followed by a consultative meeting of Head of States and Government of SADC Double Troika members, International Conference of Great Lakes Region (ICGLR); African Union Troika and the African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson.

President Ramaphosa will be accompanied by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Lindiwe Sisulu and Minister of State Security Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba. - SAnews.gov.za