16 August 2006

With around 80% of votes counted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), current president Joseph Kabila Kabila is leading with 45% of the votes, followed by Pierre Bemba with 22%, South Africa's Department of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.

Provisional results of the DRC's first democratic elections, held on 30 July, are expected to be released on 20 August, with final results to be announced on 30 August.

Results for the parliamentary elections are expected to be announced on 4 September.

"Should no candidate obtain 51% of the votes, there will be a presidential second round of voting by the end of October or first week of November," the department said in a statement.

"We have consistently said that this will be one of the most difficult elections to organise, considering the logistical and technical difficulties and challenges of the country - including the problems with the printing of ballot papers, the violence in the east, and the many candidates standing for elections," Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said in Cape Town on Tuesday.

"However, the South African observer mission has echoed the sentiments of many of the other groups that, despite these challenges, the process has gone well."

Pahad said the biggest challenge was perhaps that many of the 33 presidential candidates lacked a strong political following.

"These candidates, when the SADC delegation of foreign and defence ministers visited the region ahead of elections, requested that we support their requests for the polls to be postponed."

A key role player in the peacekeeping initiative in the DRC, South Africa's assistance included acting as a facilitator in political negotiations, deploying a peacekeeping team, printing and distributing ballot papers and lending the expertise and resources of its Independent Electoral Commission.

South Africa also sent a 118-member observer mission to the DRC ahead of the elections, comprising members of Parliament, government officials, business people, civil society representatives, religious leaders, trade unionists and individuals with experience in observing elections.

The mission was deployed in all the DRC's 11 provinces to ensure the effective participation of the country's 25 million registered voters.

Source: BuaNews

	DRC elections 'free and fair' DRC polls go off peacefully SA, Europe team up for DRC polls SA extends African peace missions

	African Union  UN Mission in DRC  Department of Foreign Affairs

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