The South African government has joined a chorus from the international community calling for calm ahead of the release of election results in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
In a statement released on Monday, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) urged all leaders from different sectors of society to be responsible and wait for the election results from DRC’s Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).
The Congolesse took to the polls on December 30 to elect a new president. The country will have a new president since 2001 with Joseph Kabila expected to step down when the results are released later this month.
Vying for the coveted post are Kabila’s preferred successor Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary and two outsiders, opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi and businessman Martin Fayulu.
“South Africa joins SADC, the AU and many other international organisations in awaiting the elections results to be announced by CENI,” the department said.
Dirco urged other civil society organisations to refrain from announcing any results of the elections which may undermine peace and stability in the DRC, as well as multilateral processes. – SAnews.gov.za
