UN Security Council congratulates legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau

UNITED NATIONS, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Tuesday congratulated Guinea-Bissau for the peaceful conduct of March 10 legislative elections.

In a statement, the Security Council expressed its congratulations to the Bissau-Guinean people and government as well as political leaders, civil society organizations, for the peaceful conduct of the elections.

The members of the Council commended international partners, and the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) for their support in elections preparation, and applauded the role of international, regional and domestic election observation missions for their contributions to the transparency of the electoral process.

The Council called upon leaders of all political parties to continue to refrain from inciting followers toward any violent action and to respect the outcome of the poll.

The members of the Security Council noted the importance of a credible, free, fair and peaceful presidential election to be organized within the legally-mandated time frame in 2019, and they also called upon the national authorities to expedite the review of Guinea-Bissau Constitution.

The West African country has been in a political crisis since August 2015, when President Mario Vaz deposed Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, his main political rival.