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UN Security Council presses for peaceful Congo transition

Date: Nov 14, 2016

The United Nations (UN) Security Council pushed for a peaceful transition of power in Congo during a weekend visit aimed at averting massive violence when President Joseph Kabila's mandate runs out on December 19.

The visit by diplomats from countries on the council on Saturday and Sunday aimed to break the deadlock over whether Kabila should step down before an election which, thanks to slow voter registration, has been delayed until at least April 2018.

He has vowed to stay on until the poll goes ahead, but the opposition accuse Kabila of manipulating the process to cling to power in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a charge his supporters deny.

Several protests have erupted against Kabila, who has been in power since his father was assassinated in 2001. More than 50 people were killed in street protests in September.

Security Council members stressed that Kabila's seeking to change the constitution to allow him to run for a third elected mandate, as the opposition accuse him of doing and some of his supporters suggest he might, would be no solution.

"The DRC is at a pivotal moment in its history," Francois Delattre, France's ambassador to the United Nations, told journalists after the meetings on Saturday. "For the first time, a peaceful transition of power at the end of the president's mandate is possible."

Angola's ambassador to the United Nations, Ismael Abraao, focused more on the peaceful resolution of the crisis.

"We have assurances. There is a desire from everyone to avoid the worst ... The Security Council is ready to work with you so that there is peace," he said. But he added: "A third term has not been considered as a solution to the crisis. The solution lies in permanent dialogue."

--Reuters--

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