A 118-Member South African Observer Mission departs for the Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of the 30 July 2006 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections

Pretoria - The 118-member South African Observer Mission will on Wednesday, 19 July 2006, depart for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ahead of the Congolese Presidential and Parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on 30 July 2006.

The South African Observer Mission's participation in overseeing the historic DRC elections is within the context of South Africa's commitment to resolving conflicts on the African continent and establishing democratic institutions.

In this regard, the South African Observer Mission will from 19 July to 4 August 2006 observe all phases of the elections, including election campaigns, the voting process and the counting of votes.

The South African Observer Mission, the largest ever to be dispatched by the South African government, will be deployed in all the eleven (11) provinces in the DRC.

The South African Observer Mission comprises of Members of Parliament, government officials, representatives of civil society (including women and youth), business people, religious leaders, trade unionists and individual South Africans with experience in observing elections.

A few members of the South African Observer Mission will remain in the DRC until 15 August 2006 to observe the final outcome of the counting process. The rest of the members will return to South Africa on 4 August having observed all the phases of the election process.

Ends

For enquiries please contact the Department of Foreign Affair's media contact person in the DRC, Mr Vincent Hlongwane, on +27 82 385 1169.

Issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Government Communications (GCIS)

Issued by Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853

Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
Pretoria
0001

18 July 2006