UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Following a fire that destroyed Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) election material, the United Nations on Thursday appealed to all parties "to assist in the holding of free and fair" balloting in 10 days.
"We've been very clear, including through the head of the UN mission (MONUSCO) there, Leila Zerrougui, we are concerned about any actions by various parties that could impede the holding of elections on the ground and we are encouraging all parties to assist in the holding of free and fair elections," Farhan Haq, deputy UN spokesman said.
"Obviously any sort of incidents like this are a cause for concern in that respect," he told reporters at a regular briefing.
There were reports earlier this week of violent clashes between factions in the capital city, Kinshasa.
"The UN Mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, reported that earlier (Thursday) a large fire engulfed the independent national electoral commission warehouse in Kinshasa," Haq said. "Preliminary reports indicate that polling station kits from Kinshasa and a large number of voting machines and other electoral material were destroyed in the fire."
"A MONUSCO fire-fighting team was rapidly deployed to the scene and helped to extinguish the fire," he said. "So far, details surrounding the cause of the fire are unknown."
Balloting in the war-torn and resource-rich DRC is slated for Dec. 23 to determine a successor to President Joseph Kabila who has been in office since 2001 when he replaced his assassinated father Laurent Kabila. Joseph Kabila is not running for re-election, having stayed beyond his term limit, following cancellation of the 2016 elections.
Earlier, Haq said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' special representative, Zerrougui, has expressed her "serious concern" over repeated incidents hampering the proper conduct of the electoral campaign in the country.
"She spoke out against the obstacles some opposition candidates have faced as they tried to hold public meetings in some cities," Haq said. "Deploring the loss of life, Zerrougui urged Congolese authorities to take all necessary measures to prevent further such incidents."
"She also voiced her concern about the interference of some armed groups in the electoral campaign and stressed the need to respect the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration," the spokesman said.
Last month seven UN peacekeepers from MONUSCO, six from Malawi and another from Tanzania, were killed in the DRC while on an operation against one of the warring factions.
