Written question asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative) on Monday, 20 November 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 22 November 2006. It was answered by Ian McCartney (Labour) on Monday, 27 November 2006 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the UK Government took (a) unilaterally and (b) multilaterally towards ensuring that the General Election in Congo was free and fair.

Answer: The UK provided £30 million in bilateral support to the election process. UK officials also participated in the elections steering committee, advising the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) on voting procedures, transparency and logistics to assist them in holding free and fair elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.The UK funded Congolese election observation networks and observers sent from the UK, including eight hon. Members in the UK missions, supported the EU Electoral Observation Mission in both rounds of elections. Throughout the electoral process, the UK and international partners pressed candidates and political parties to respect the need to follow the CEI code of conduct and to ensure free and fair elections. We have encouraged any complaints on the conduct of the elections to be made through the appropriate legal channels.

Secondary information