17 January 2019•Update: 18 January 2019
By Addis Getachew
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia
African leaders from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the Great Lakes Region met Thursday to find ways of supporting the democratic process in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, under the auspices of the African Union Commission was convened in line with a call by Rwandan President Paul Kagame – who is chairman of the African Union.
“There have been challenges related to the electoral process in the Democratic Republic of Congo and [we] have the opportunity to be useful and supportive of finding a resolution,” said Kagame.
Kagame revealed that post-electoral tensions were being made worse as outside observers, some of whom not officially designated, began to make statements.
African leaders felt the need to make their presence in the affairs of an African Union member nations because failing to do so would be “one way of inviting outsiders to meddle,” said Kagame.
African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki said the meeting was an expression of solidarity with the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“If the transition succeeds we would be laying the foundation for democratization in the DRC,” he added.
DRC held on Dec. 30 for its first ever democratic transfer of power after the country achieved political independence in 1960 from Belgium. But the results been scrutinized after the two declared losers contested the polls.
Last Thursday, opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi was declared the winner by the electoral commission with 38.57 percent of the vote.
Rival Martin Fayulu with 34.8 percent, appealed the result to country’s constitutional court.
