Rival parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will begin new talks next week to work out a timetable for elections, a senior member of Parliament said on Monday in a new indication that the polls may be put off.
Lambert Mende Omalanga, the transitional Parliament’s rapporteur, said the signatories of the December 2002 peace accord, which ended five years of war in the vast country, will start the talks on January 31.
They will decide whether to put off the June elections fixed under the accord, he said after a meeting between Parliament and the international body accompanying the transition to democracy, known by its French acronym of Ciat.
Representatives of Ciat, which includes the five permanent United Nations Security Council members along with former colonial power Belgium, South Africa and the UN mission in the DRC, will also attend, Mende said.
The announcement came as a spokesperson for South African President Thabo Mbeki, the architect of the 2002 accord, said the president had put off a mediation visit planned for Tuesday.
Few believe the first democratic and free elections in 40 years will take place on schedule to choose a successor to the transitional government headed by President Joseph Kabila, which includes former rebels. — Sapa-AFP