Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders warned on Monday of possible imposition of sanctions against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the international community over a delay in the announcement of results of the country's presidential and parliamentary elections
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th January, 2019) Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders warned on Monday of possible imposition of sanctions against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the international community over a delay in the announcement of results of the country's presidential and parliamentary elections.
The DRC citizens elected the country's president and members а the parliament on December 30, while the results were due to be announced on Sunday. However, the country's election commission has not announced the results, saying that only 47 percent of ballots from polling stations have been received so far.
"The sanctions of the international committee [UN Security Council] are already in force. The imposition of new [sanctions] will depend on the situation's development," Reynders told Belgium's RTBF.
The presidential election in the DRC should have been held on December 23, however, the election commission postponed it to December 30 since ballots and protocols for the vote have not been delivered on time.
A total of 21 people are running for presidency in the country. DRC President Joseph Kabila, in power since 2001, is not standing for re-election since he is not allowed to hold the presidential post for the third consecutive term. His party has designated former interior minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary as its presidential candidate.
