10 August 2006

Vote-counting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is expected to be complete by Friday, with the DRC's Independent Electoral Commission expected to announce the provincial results by the weekend, says Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad.

On 30 July, the DRC held its first elections in over 40 years.

Earlier results
Speaking to reporters in Pretoria on Tuesday, Pahad expressed the hope that the results of each province would be released as and when they were completed, as agreed on with the Congolese.

"We believe that would be important to help improve the atmosphere in the DRC, and we hope that the agreement will be fulfilled and election results - province by province - will be given until the expected results on Friday, which is much earlier than we thought possible," he said.

Although some difficulties in the administration of the elections were expected, Pahad explained, the elections were generally regarded as free and reflective of the Congolese people's opinion.

Obserever mission
Pahad applauded the South African Observer Mission, which presided over the process, for the work they did in the DRC.

"Our observer mission has gained a lot of respect from other people assisting with the elections and other international observer missions."

He said the mission's interim report, released earlier this week, corroborated what other missions reported.

He also noted a United Nations Security Council statement calling on political leaders in the DRC to accept the election results and to refrain from making inflammatory statements.

Ivory Coast
Pahad recently accompanied Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota on a visit to the Ivory Coast, where they held meetings with that country's president, prime minister and other leaders.

"Since our visit there has been some progress," Pahad said. "Members of the national assembly have embarked on a peace mission. They are going around explaining [to the people] the national identification process."

There are reportedly a large number of people there without any form of official identification. However, a process has begun to address this ahead of the elections scheduled for 30 October.

The Ivory Coast has been divided since 2002, when rebels seized the northern regions, with government forces controlling the south.

In a quest for peace, the dismantling and disarming of the militia groups in the country is scheduled to start this month.

Source: BuaNews

	With 270 registered parties and 33 presidential candidates, it wasn't always easy for voters to find their candidate (Photo: UN Mission in Congo)

	DRC elections 'free and fair' DRC polls go off peacefully SA observer team arrives in DRC SA, Europe team up for DRC polls

	African Union  UN Mission in DRC  Department of Foreign Affairs

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