25/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - Revision of Congolese constitution. The European Union has kept a close watch on the process of reviewing the Congolese Constitution, a process which has led inter alia to a change to both the rules for presidential elections and those governing institutional balances, and has also monitored the backcloth against which it has taken place. “The EU notes that the process ought to have been the subject of a broader public debate”, says a statement on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), issued by High Representative Catherine Ashton on Monday 24 January on behalf of the European Union. The EU states that it is the responsibility of the authorities of the DRC to ensure a free, fair and peaceful electoral process in which there is freedom of expression, including for the media, and a level playing field in which all candidates are able to campaign freely and safely. The EU also calls on all political parties to engage fully and peacefully in an inclusive democratic process. It confirms its readiness to support a process which should result in democratic, credible and fully inclusive elections, on the understanding that its commitments will be reviewed in the light of a new electoral budget to be drawn up. (L.C./transl.rt)