18 May 2006
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC-RSA), Dr
Brigalia Bam, announced today at a media briefing in Pretoria, that the
Governments of Denmark and Ireland have generously donated a total of R11
million to assist with elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
âThese funds will specifically be used in some of the projects for the
forthcoming elections. The donation is highly appreciated and clearly shows the
commitment of these countries in the development of peace and stability on the
African continent,â said Dr Bam.
The Republic of South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have
been co-operating in bringing about peace and stability in the DRC. This
co-operation led to the signing of the Global and Inclusive Agreement on
Transition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Pretoria on 16 December
2002. The Agreement made amongst others, a provision for the transition of the
DRC to democracy.
Following this Agreement, the two Governments signed a General Co-operation
Agreement with a view to promoting political, economic and social co-operation.
The Agreement also made a provision for the establishment of a Bi-National
Commission between the two countries. As part of that agreement, the Electoral
Commissions of the two countries concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
aimed at facilitating co-operation and rendering assistance with respect to
electoral matters. This MoU was signed on 10 February 2005. Other MoUs and
agreements have been signed between various government departments in South
Africa and their counterparts in the DRC.
In terms of the above-mentioned MoU, the following areas of assistance were
identified:
* logistics
* information and communication technology (ICT)
* voting and results
* recruitment and training of staff
* conflict resolution
Dr Bam said the IEC-RSA was pleased to announce that co-operation has been
facilitated extensively in a number of areas. With respect to logistics, South
Africa will be printing all the ballot papers for the upcoming elections in the
DRC. In keeping with the MoU, the IEC-RSA will project-manage the printing of
these ballots as we do for our own elections. The Government of South Africa
has graciously contributed the paper required for the printing of the ballots
as well as the distribution of these ballots to 14 hubs in the DRC. Work has
already commenced in earnest in this regard.
Further assistance rendered in the logistics area includes the training of
IEC-DRC staff on electoral logistics. This training took place in both South
Africa and the DRC. The IEC-RSA is also warehousing electoral material that
will be used in the elections in the DRC.
âA number of our electoral experts on information technology (IT) have also
been rendering assistance to the IEC-DRC. As we speak, seven of these experts
are permanently based in the DRC. We have received even more requests for IT
staff. In this regard, we will be approaching civil society organizations, SADC
Electoral Commissions and South African business to kindly avail this critical
expertise for these elections in the DRC. It is anticipated that 128 electoral
experts will be seconded from South Africa to assist in that country from 1
July to 15 August 2006.
âIn collaboration with our counterpart in the DRC, we held a seminar for
political parties prior to registration with a view to assisting them to
understand the complexities of running elections. Other seminars are planned to
be held before the elections on 30 July 2006. These seminars will be geared
towards ensuring that political parties understand the voting process, and the
process for counting and announcement of results.
âAs you are probably aware, elections in the DRC are complex. That country
has not held an election in more than 40 years. In many respects, these
elections may be compared to our first democratic elections in 1994.
âVarious governments have contributed through the United Nations for this
transition in the DRC. It is in this respect that the governments of the
Kingdom of Denmark and the Republic of Ireland have recognised our efforts and
agreed to partner us in rendering assistance as we do, to the IEC-DRC,â said Dr
Bam.
Enquiries
Lydia Young
Cell: 082 650 8652
Issued by: Independent Electoral Commission
18 May 2006
