Brussels, 04/05/2006 (Agence Europe) - Louis Michel, European Development Commissioner, welcomed the timetable for the first round of presidential and legislative elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). However, he warned against any attempt to sabotage the electoral process. Here are the main extracts from a speech by the Commissioner, published on Thursday: “The timetable provides for the organisation of the first round on 30 July 2006, and the start of the electoral campaign, lasting 30 days, on the 29 June. This announcement … opens the final phase of the electoral process. It allows Congolese citizens, who have long awaited these elections, to see that preparations are continuing and that the process is indeed irreversible. Every effort must now be made to ensure that this date is respected and the elections go off peacefully, transparently and with full respect for freedom of expression. The European Commission calls on the Congolese political representatives, and on religious and philosophical representatives to do all in their power to ensure that this process enjoys the calm necessary and the maximum participation on the part of Congolese voters. The European Commission will be intransigent will any excess or attempt to sabotage the process. It calls on everyone to abide by the outcome of the vote.”