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The South African Observer Mission to the DRC Elections satisfied
with Progress on Vote Counting Kinshasa: The South African Observer Mission
(SAOM) to the 30 July 2006 Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Presidential and
Parliamentary elections has expressed satisfaction with progress registered in
capturing the results, despite difficulties at the commencement of the process. Accordingly
the chairperson of the DRC Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Rev. Apollonaire
Malumalu, has on Monday, 14 August 2006 confirmed that 94% of the Presidential
results and 44% of the Parliamentary results have been captured. With only 6%
of the Presidential results outstanding, the DRC IEC is expected to release the
provisional results on 20 August 2006, as originally planned. In this regard,
the SAOM has welcomed a report by the Congolese National Episcopal Conference
of the Catholic Church, which on Saturday, 12 August 2006 described the 30 July
historic elections as having had massive voter turnout. The leader of the
Congolese Catholic Church, Arch-bishop Laurent Mosengwo, congratulated the IEC
for what he described as "a well-organised election", called for transparency
during the counting process and urged leaders of political parties and their supporters
to respect the outcome of the elections. The SAOM is also encouraged by
the co-operation and support the DRC IEC continues to receive from the political
parties contesting the elections, all of whom have made a commitment to respect
the outcome and abide by the Electoral Laws governing the DRC historic elections,
in an event of disputes. The final results of the Presidential elections
will only be announced on 30 August 2006 by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
after the completion of all legal processes attendant to the elections. The
108-member SAOM to the DRC elections was the largest ever to be dispatched by
the South African government. At the invitation of the DRC IEC, the SAOM
arrived in the DRC on 19 July 2006. They were deployed in all the eleven provinces
of the DRC and observed all phases of the elections, including pre-election campaigns,
the voting process and the counting of votes. Ends Enquiries:
Vincent
Hlongwane on +27 82 385 1169
Lindo Nkomonde on +27 82 875 9631 Issued
by the South African Observer Mission c/o South African Embassy in
the DRC
77 Ngongo Lutete Avenue
Kinshasa / Gombe
Democratic Republic
of Congo 15 August 2006
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