Church boycotts DRC's poll call

2006-07-27 07:33

Kinshasa - The Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo had refused to put its name to a declaration released on Wednesday calling on the Congolese people to vote in Sunday's election.

The National Episcopal Conference of the Congo (CENCO) was the only major religious group in the DRC to refuse to sign the declaration, which also urged all candidates and political parties to accept the election result.

Protestant, Islamic and evangelical leaders signed the declaration, as did representatives of a popular local religious movement in the southwest of the country.

CENCO president Laurent Monsengwo on Friday threatened not to recognise the result of the election if certain "irregularities" were not changed.

The declaration congratulated the DRC's electoral commission on its preparations for the election and said it was the "duty of all citizens to fulfil their civic duty" by voting.

- AFP