Congo-DRC – Strength of Female Vote – Constitution Referendum
Author: Womens UN Report Network
Date: February 12, 2006
Women’s Vote Tilts Balance in DRC’s Constitutional
Referendum
3 out of 5 voters women
Kinshasa — The people of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC) voted a resounding “yes” at their Constitutional Referendum held in
December 2005. The referendum was the first time in decades that Congolese went
to the polls to decide on their country’s future.
The results of the referendum, announced by the President of the Independent
Electoral Commission in January this year, showed that women had turned out in
significant numbers to cast their votes. 60% of all voters were women, and 72%
of the more than 9 million women registered as voters chose to endorse their
Constitution.
The strength of the female vote, and the increased participation of women
during the constitutional process, points to the importance of taking into
account the specific needs of women during electoral and constitutional
processes. It highlights the value of creating favourable conditions for equal
access of women and men to electoral mandates and electoral offices, thereby
improving governance structures and providing widely accepted and more
sustainable solutions to the country’s peaceful development.
UNIFEM partnered with UNDP and MONUC to provide technical and financial
support to the DRC’s Independent Electoral Commission to ensure women’s
participation in the referendum. An outreach and education strategy included
dissemination of the Constitution, training and information sessions, and
raising media awareness of gender issues within the constitutional context.
Women were encouraged to conduct “sensitization and mobilization” activities
where they went door to door on foot and in “caravans” of cars, motorcycles and
bicycles to speak directly to people in their various communities and
neighbourhoods. The UN agencies estimated that at least 50,500 women were
reached directly and many thousands more indirectly.
The Constitution includes key gender equality principles among other
fundamental principles. The major challenge now is the successful adoption by
parliament of an electoral law that will guarantee equal opportunities for men
and women to claim their civic rights and participate in their country’s
development. UNIFEM is continuing to work with Congolese women by supporting a
critical mass of women and men parliamentarians, and supporting women’s
mobilizing and advocacy activities with the media and the public in the lead-up
to the adoption of the electoral law. UNIFEM is also assisting women in
preparing to participate as candidates, voters, mobilizers and observers in the
upcoming elections in less than six months’ time, when Congolese will go to the
polls again to choose their leaders.
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Categories: Releases