Political instability continues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, still recovering from the flawed November 28 presidential and parliamentary election. The nation’s leading opposition party has told its newly elected lawmakers to boycott the national assembly in the aftermath of the voting. President Joseph Kabila was re-elected and is now forming a government as the nation’s Supreme Court reviews hundreds of electoral disputes.
The United States, long a friend of the Congolese people, continues to monitor Congo’s post-election situation closely. We urge Congolese authorities to conduct a full, thorough and transparent review of the elections process, and an open and public process in adjudicating election disputes.
We also remain deeply concerned about the many allegations of human rights abuses by security forces during and after the balloting. The government should fully investigate such reports, hold anyone found responsible fully accountable, and take concrete steps to ensure that government security forces exercise restraint.
The people’s rights of assembly and peaceful protest should and must be observed. We call on all Congolese leaders and all parties to act responsibly and publicly renounce violence as the nation works to move forward.
We encourage all political parties to participate fully as the National Assembly is seated, in order to preserve and protect the basic democratic principle of representative government that elections promote.
The United States remains steadfast in its support of the Congolese people as they work to build a brighter, more democratic future for their nation.
