Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government will take with the East African Community on helping to ensure that the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo in December 2023 are free and fair.

The UK Government has a long-standing commitment to supporting prosperity, development, and stability in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The UK is working with stakeholders to support the delivery of elections this year. We continue to emphasise the need for these to be free, fair, inclusive, and transparent to support long-term stability and prosperity. We engage frequently and at a senior level with the Partner States of the East African Community (EAC) on regional security issues through our missions, and in the UK. We support the EAC led Nairobi Process, a regional process which aims to counter the latest spiral of violence in eastern DRC. We have committed funding towards this process.