KINSHASA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) President Joseph Kabila said on Thursday that "the country will definitely hold elections at all levels."
The president was speaking during the closing ceremony of a governors' conference in Lubumbashi, the capital of Haut-Katanga province in southeast DR Congo.
"I want to take this opportunity to affirm that the electoral process in our country is irreversible. Elections will definitely be held at all levels," Kabila said.
"It is because of my desire to find broader consensus around the electoral process in our country, that I convened all Congolese political and social actors to a national political dialogue, which I hope will be inclusive," he said.
"With the virtue of negotiations and dialogue that is strongly anchored in our culture, nothing will prevent the Congolese people from sitting down to talk and find solutions to the problems facing our country," he insisted.
Since June 2015, Kabila has been calling for a national dialogue, but opposition parties have refused to take part, arguing that the president is looking for ways to remain in power yet his second term ends in November 2016.
