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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