Joint statement from the Embassies of the United States, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Norway, Netherlands , Portugal, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and the Delegation of the European Union, published this Friday, June 2, reiterates the commitment of these various countries to support the Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo and its population on the way to the competitive, peaceful, inclusive and transparent elections of December 2023.
These embassies strongly condemn any attempt to divide the population of the DRC on the basis of ethnicity, language, region or origin. The importance of promoting inclusion rather than division and condemning the dissemination of hate speech was stressed.
In their statement, the embassies insisted on respect for fundamental democratic rights and equal opportunities for all candidates. In particular, they called on the entire Congolese political class to ensure that the electoral process is peaceful and to reject any incitement to violence during the electoral campaign.
According to the embassies, the holding of competitive, peaceful, inclusive and transparent elections in accordance with the constitution and the electoral law of the DRC, with a healthy and robust debate, is a key element in the exercise of democracy in ground floor.
These various diplomatic missions also reiterated their commitment to support the DRC in this democracy initiative.
In short, this joint declaration is a manifestation of the involvement that the different countries and the EU give to the electoral process in the DRC. It is also a message to the Congolese nation for an active and peaceful commitment for a successful election.