Those at Thursday’s meeting in Addis Ababa on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, included the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, President Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, as well as the foreign ministers of SADC member states.
The meeting was briefed on the electoral process in the DRC and subsequent developments by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DRC.
The meeting also received updates from the Chairpersons of the International conference of Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), SADC and the AU Commission, and had in-depth exchanges of views thereafter.
“The initiative is part of the African-led efforts, in the spirit of continental solidarity, to assist the DRC political stakeholders and people to successfully conclude the electoral process and preserve peace and stability in their country,” according to an AU Commission statement.
In a statement issued at the conclusion of their meeting on Thursday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, they said there were serious doubts about the provisional results proclaimed by the National Independent Electoral Commission.
The leaders agreed to urgently dispatch to the DRC a high-level delegation comprising the Chairperson of the African Union and other leaders, as well as the Chairperson of the AU Commission, to interact with all Congolese stakeholders, with the view to reaching a consensus on a way out of the post-electoral crisis in the country.
The meeting urged all concerned actors in the DRC to interact positively with the high-level African delegation in the interest of their country and its people.
The African leaders meeting in Addis reiterated the AU’s determination to continue to accompany the People of the DRC in this process.
It would be recalled that last week, the Chairperson of the Commission in a statement underlined that, regardless of the final official results of the elections, the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo requires genuine national consensus based on respect for democratic principles and human rights, as well as the preservation and consolidation of peace.