China urges support for legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau

UNITED NATIONS - A Chinese envoy on Friday called on the international community to provide technical, financial and logistical support for legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau.

"We hope that parties in Guinea-Bissau will work together to ensure that elections are held on schedule in a smooth manner," Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told a UN Security Council meeting.

Guinea-Bissau's legislative elections which were originally scheduled for Nov. 18 have been postponed due to technical challenges. The West African country's President Jose Mario Vaz on Thursday issued a decree, setting March 10, 2019 as the new election date.

The international community should fully respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guinea-Bissau, said Wu, adding that China will work with the international community to promote dialogue among parties in Guinea-Bissau, and to play a constructive role in securing stability and development of the country and West Africa as a whole.

The parties in Guinea-Bissau should bear in mind the long-term interests of the state and its people, to take concrete action with political decisiveness, resolve differences through dialogues, and improve people's livelihoods and national stability and development, Wu said.

The tiny 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.