One week before the elections in the DRC, the government is asking for help from the United Nations to transport electoral materials to difficult-to-access areas. A letter was sent Tuesday, December 12 to the United Nations Security Council, by the Congolese ambassador to the UN. Zénon Mukongo Ngay asks for help from MONUSCO. The presidential, legislative and local elections are scheduled for December 20. A real logistical challenge.
2 mins
In his letter dated Tuesday, December 12, Ambassador Zénon Mukongo, representative of the DRC to the United Nations, requests authorization from the Security Council to extend the logistical support of MONUSCO to other provinces of the country, summarizes our corresponding to Kinshasa, Patient Ligodi.
Until now, the UN mission’s helicopters have only been used to facilitate the deployment of electoral materials in the Ituri provinces as well as in North and South Kivu, where it is deployed. MONUSCO’s current mandate limits its action to these three provinces. It should be noted that even for these three provinces, the resolution framing this mandate specifies that support for the electoral process should not compromise the ability of the Mission to carry out its priority tasks.
Ambassador Zénon Mukongo indicated on Monday that he expected, among other things, support for the December elections to be included in the resolution renewing MONUSCO’s mandate.
Read alsoDRC: government and UN sign MONUSCO withdrawal plan
Even though it is calling for the accelerated departure of MONUSCO, the government is still counting on its logistics and therefore wants MONUSCO to be able to extend its assistance to other provinces to transport this equipment to sites with difficult access. Particularly in Ecuador, a source tells us, where isolation and the lack of road infrastructure delay this delivery.
A week ago, the Independent Electoral Commission had also requested from the government the provision of four Antonovs and 10 helicopters for the deployment of electoral kits.
For its part, the Ceni remains confident. She shared with SADC observers on Wednesday information on the logistical arrangements put in place to guarantee the holding of elections on December 20. The Security Council’s response should not take long, given that we are six days before the elections, according to UN sources.
Read alsoElections in the DRC: citizens confronted with the coinage of duplicate voter cards