Secretary-General Welcomes Democratic Republic of Congo President’s Decision to Abide by Constitution, Country’s Progress towards Elections in December

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

Following the publication of the provisional list of aspiring presidential candidates by the Commission électorale nationale indépendante (CENI) on 8 August, the Secretary-General welcomes President Joseph Kabila’s decision to abide, as he has stated, by the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  He also welcomes the continued progress towards the holding of presidential and legislative elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 23 December 2018.

The Secretary-General reiterates the United Nations readiness to continue working with the Government and people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to prepare the ground for free, fair and credible elections leading to a peaceful transfer of power.