Pointing to upcoming elections and subsequent national stability as the key issues facing the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended extending the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission there for another year and has called for troop deployment in two more provinces. The UN Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUC) is playing a central role in supporting the country's Transitional Government through the electoral process and in ensuring stable governance thereafter, he says in his 17th report to the UN Security Council on the DRC, covering major developments there since the end of December.