Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent discussions their representatives have had with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and with President Kabila in relation to respecting the current constitutional presidential term limits.

Successful elections and the peaceful transition of power in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are important for the country’s longer-term development and stability. Officials at our Embassy in Kinshasa have consistently raised the importance of respect for the constitution with the Government of the DRC and with President Kabila himself. They will continue to do so.

A revised electoral law, passed on 25 January by the DRC’s Parliament, was welcomed in a Foreign and Commonwealth Office press statement of 26 January. This, and the subsequent comprehensive electoral calendar published by the DRC’s Independent Electoral Reform Commission on 12 February, represent an important step towards elections which are credible, inclusive and peaceful, and which respect the will of the Congolese people, the country’s constitution and the African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.