Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of the 30 July 2006 Presidential and
Parliamentary elections
18 July 2006
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.
The South African Observer Mission, the largest ever to be dispatched by the
South African government, will be deployed in all the eleven 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.
Enquiries:
Mr Vincent Hlongwane
Cell: 082 385 1169
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
18 July 2006
Source: SAPA
