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“Expressed concern about the hate speech, violence and incidents that have marked the last few days of the campaign,” the European Union said in a statement released on Tuesday in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The group mentioned “serious human rights violations and abuses” even as it applauded the active participation of all parties in the campaign, which concluded on Monday, December 18.
The spokesperson for the EU diplomacy cited a report by the UN.
stating that it was up to the DRC’s authorities “to launch investigations in order to prosecute the perpetrators” of the alleged crimes.
Additionally, the EU, a group of 27 countries, reaffirmed that the DRC’s authorities were in charge of “ensuring an inclusive, free, transparent, and peaceful electoral process.”
There are 44 million Congolese citizens registered to vote in the parliamentary, municipal, provincial, and presidential elections on Wednesday.
War in the east, allegations of foreign interference, concerns over the credibility of the electoral commission as well as the assassination of candidates are some of the issues that dominated the campaign.
19 candidates are vying for the presidency including the incumbent president. Whoever arrives first win as there is no run-off election.
