Thapelo Sakoana
29 May 2006
Ireland and Denmark have donated around R11-million to enable South Africa's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to help the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) hold successful elections on 30 July.
The two European countries signed a memorandum of understanding with the IEC in Pretoria two weeks ago.
A big chunk of the funds will be channelled to logistics, such as the recruitment and training of staff, conflict resolution, and assisting the DRC with information and communication technology infrastructure for the elections.
IEC chairperson Brigalia Bam said the assistance would enable the central African country hold the next round of elections on its own, having drawn from South Africa's expertise.
At least 9 000 candidates will be competing for 500 seats in the National Assembly, said DRC ambassador to South Africa Bene M'poko, while about 33 will be vying for the country's presidency.
The South African government has already contributed paper for the printing of ballot papers and will assist in distributing these to 14 hubs in the DRC.
The IEC will start printing the ballot papers on Friday, and is expected to have the last of these delivered to the DRC by 23 June.
Electoral IT experts have already been posted to assist in the DRC. "As we speak, seven of these experts are permanently based in the DRC," said Dr Bam, adding that they had received more requests for IT staff.
Bam said they would seek additional IT expertise from civil society organisations, Southern African Development Community (SADC) electoral commissions and the South African business community.
She said South Africa anticipated seconding about 128 electoral experts to the DRC to give additional assistance from 1 July to 15 August.
Bam added that the IEC had already held seminars with political parties in the DRC to help them understand the processes of voting, counting and the announcement of results.
"As you are probably aware, elections in the DRC are complex," Bam said. "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."
Danish ambassador Torben Brylle said Denmark's contribution was in line with South Africa's drive to help bring peace and stability to that country. "We commend the important role of South Africa but also contribute in our own way," he said.
Irish ambassador Gerard Corr echoed these sentiments, saying the partnership was a token of appreciation for South Africa's role in restoring peace to the DRC.
Source: BuaNews
