government of their readiness to accept 29 October 2006 election results
23 October 2006
Kinshasa - The leader of the South African Observer Mission (SAOM) to the
presidential and provincial elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC), Deputy Defence Minister Mluleki George, has confirmed that both
President Joseph Kabila and Vice President Jean Pierre Bemba, have given him
assurances that they will respect the outcome of the Presidential poll.
Deputy Defence Minister Mluleki George, welcomed their commitment to a
peaceful election and added, "We are encouraged by President Kabila and Vice
President Bemba's desire to embrace democracy and uphold the rule of law in the
DRC, especially in the light of the unfortunate events of 20 August, where
innocent lives were lost following the announcement of the results."
The leader of the SAOM, who over the weekend had separate meetings with the
President Kabila and Vice President Bemba also revealed that, "Much as there
are tensions in the build up to these elections, the DRC-Independent Electoral
Commission chairperson Rev. Apollonaire Malumalu has given us an undertaking
that the elections will go ahead as planned."
The two candidates will contest the second round of the Presidential
elections following the 29 July 2006 elections, in which none of the then 33
Presidential candidates managed to secure an outright majority (50+1%).
President Kabila and Vice President Bemba got the highest number of votes;
though short of the Constitutional requirement, hence the second round.
Meanwhile, the South African government has since Saturday, 21 October 2006,
deployed 108 observers, involving members of parliament, government employees,
members of civil society (youth and women), business people and a cross-section
of South Africans with experience in observing elections.
The SAOM has been deployed in all the eleven (11) provinces in the DRC to
observe the three phases of the elections, namely political campaigns, the
voting process and the counting of the ballots. They will return to South
Africa on 2 November 2006.
Enquiries:
Vincent Hlongwane
Cell: 082 385 1169
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
23 October 2006
Source: SAPA
