Congolese must cast ballots if the Democratic Republic of the Congo is to put years of violence behind it, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said through a spokesperson on Friday.
”For the democratic process to succeed, it is essential that the Congolese people play their full part,” Annan’s spokesperson said.
”The secretary general appeals to the citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to turn out in large numbers, and in a peaceful and orderly manner, to cast their votes in the referendum and thus play their part in ensuring that their country continues along the path to peace, democracy and prosperity,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Sunday’s poll, organised as the DRC slowly emerges from its last conflict, which directly or indirectly claimed an estimated three million lives over five years, will be monitored by the world’s biggest UN peacekeeping mission of 18 600.
”On 18 December, the citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be asked to vote on a new Constitution, in a referendum which marks the beginning of the long-awaited electoral process in the country after years of conflict, turmoil and immeasurable suffering,” the statement said.
President Joseph Kabila and most parties to an interim administration set up in 2003, which includes former rebels, have urged a ”yes” vote, as has former colonial power Belgium, which warned against ”collective suicide”.
Since June, agents of an independent electoral commission (CEI) have registered more than 24,5-million voters. – Sapa-AFP