S/PV.5562 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. After consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council: “The Security Council pays tribute to the sense of civic responsibility once again demonstrated by the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who participated peacefully and in large numbers in the provincial elections and the second round of the presidential election, held on 29 October 2006. “The Security Council expresses its gratitude to the Independent Electoral Commission and the Congolese National Police, which played a central role in, respectively, organizing the elections and providing security for them. It underlines the role of the High Media Authority, the International Committee of Eminent Persons and the International Committee in Support of the Transition (CIAT) in promoting a smooth conduct of the electoral process and a calm political climate and reaffirms its support for them. It also welcomes the support provided for the holding of the elections by the United Nations Mission (MONUC), the EUFOR operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the country’s other international and regional partners, in particular South Africa and the European Union. “The Security Council takes note of the fact that voting generally took place in an orderly and safe atmosphere. It deplores the isolated incidents that occurred, notably in Bumba and Bikoro in Equateur province and in Fataki in Ituri district. “The Security Council recalls that the Independent Electoral Commission is responsible for announcing the election results. It calls on all political actors and the Congolese people to await and receive these results calmly and responsibly, refraining from any incitement to hatred or recourse to violence and respecting democratic institutions and the rule of law. “The Security Council attaches great importance to the signing of a declaration of post- electoral intent by the representatives of the two candidates in the second round of the presidential election, on 29 October in Kinshasa. It emphasizes that political differences must be settled by peaceful means only and calls on the parties to comply with all the confidence-building measures to which they agreed after the incidents of 20 to 22 August 2006. “The Security Council recalls that these elections are historic for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and looks forward to the installation of a democratically elected Government. It stresses that the new authorities and all Congolese political actors will be responsible for ensuring the long-term sustainability of the restoration of peace and stability and for continuing to promote national reconciliation and the establishment of democratic institutions and the rule of law in the country.” This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2006/44. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.