Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUnifeed
DR CONGO / VOTER REGISTRATION
STORY: DR CONGO / VOTER REGISTRATION
TRT: 3.45
SOURCE: UNDP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 7 JUNE 2009 & RECENT, KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
7 JUNE 2009, KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
1. Various shots, people lining up to register
2. Various shots, registration process
RECENT, KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
3. Various shots, deployment of registration kits
4. Various shots, pickups deploying kits
5. Various shots, kits
7 JUNE 2009, KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
6. Various shots, Ross Mountain, UNDP chief in DR Congo and Abbé Apollinaire Malumalu, President of the Independent Electoral Commission looking at the voter registration
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ross Mountain, UNDP chief in DR Congo:
“We are delighted to see this signpost on the road to local elections. It’s a very significant signpost. It’s the beginning of the major operation of updating this, it started here in Kinshasa, and in a few weeks it will be extended to the rest of the country.”
RECENT, KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
8. Various shots, police training
9. Various shots, unloading election supplies from plane
7 JUNE 2009, KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
10. Various shots, voter registration
As a first step on the road towards holding local elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Mission to Congo have begun registering new voters.
But with a country the size of Western Europe that lacks the most basic infrastructure, elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo are no easy task.
The registration began in the capital Kinshasa on June 7th and will continue for 60 days. On August 2nd the registration will begin in the rest of the country.
143 registration centers opened to the public with over 480 registrations kits in use. Over 6,000 voter’s registration kits were procured by UNDP for the establishment of the voter’s lists in 2005 and have now been updated and will be deployed to all the provinces in this vast country.
The kits include a laptop to enter the data, a webcam, fingerprint scanner, a printer and generator. Each weighs more than 200 kilograms.
Ross Mountain, UNDP chief in DR Congo said that the operation is gigantic.
SOUNDBITE (English) Ross Mountain, UNDP chief in DR Congo:
“We are delighted to see this signpost on the road to local elections. It’s a very significant signpost. It’s the beginning of the major operation of updating this, it started here in Kinshasa, and in a few weeks it will be extended to the rest of the country.”
Abbé Apollinaire Malumalu, the President of the Independent Electoral Commission said this was a great day for Congo.
UNDP and the UN mission have also stated training police in preparation for the voter registration and the local elections.
A three day course was held in Kinshasa for 2,578 cadets. They were instructed on the electoral process, election laws and international standards for election as well as on the police’s job during election time.
The DRC has suffered through conflict throughout its history. A series of coups in its first years of existence led to the three-decade reign of Mobutu Sese Seko, notorious for its pervasive corruption.
UNDP and the international community continue to support the IEC and the Congolese government in its efforts to hold transparent and fair local elections.
After decades of civil war and violence the African nation’s first democratic elections were held in 2005 and Joseph Kabila was elected president. Now the IEC hopes that local elections will complete this election cycle.
Download
There is no media available to download.
