Civil society selection for dialogue completed

With the selection on Wednesday of eight representatives from Kinshasa, the civil society delegate election mission for both the dialogue and its preparatory meeting has been completed, the office of the facilitator of the inter-Congolese dialogue, Ketumile Masire, a statement from his office said on Thursday. Of the total 54 civil society representatives chosen from all 11 provinces of the DRC to participate in the dialogue, 14 will be present at preparatory talks scheduled to begin on 20 August in Gabarone, capital of Botswana. Meanwhile, Masire’s office was trying to resolve questions related to the representation of political opposition organisations, another contingent of the dialogue. The three signatories to the Lusaka peace agreement who will participate in the inter-Congolese dialogue, namely the government of the DRC, the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD), and the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC), will begin representative selection on a date yet to be announced. The issue of representation of the RCD, which has splintered in to several groups since the signing of the accord, has yet to be resolved.