Date Printed: 11/03/2008 JTS Box Number: 1FES 13 Tab Number: 5 Document Title: Zaire: Joint Pre-Election Assessment Mission, September/October 1996 Document Date: 1996 Document Country: Zaire 1FES 1D: R01952 Date: 18 December 2000/ml ,( Title Zaire ,( Subtitle Joint Pre-Election Assessment Mission, September/October 1996 ,( Author NDI/IFES/IRI ,( Pub. Date November 1996 ,( Pages iv, 60 ,( Total pages 68 ,( Price $8.00 o Docutech no o Embargo no o ISBN no ,( Original yes ,( Disk H:\RSCENTERIZPUBS\Country_rptslZairelZaire_96_PEA\ Zaire_96_PEA.doc. ,( Database 234 ,( Exec. Sum. H:\RSCENTERIZPUBS\Country_rptslZairelZaire_96_PEA\ Zaire_96_PEA.htm ,( Full Report H:\RSCENTERIZPUBS\Country_rptslZairelZaire_96_PEA\ Zaire_96_PEA.pdf ,( Correct in QB yes ,( Pubs list yes Make copies 1-Sided --> 2-Sided Zaire Joint Pre-Election Assessment Mission September/October 1996 by Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) International Foundation for Election Systems, Washington, DC 20005 International Republican Institute, Washington, DC 20005 National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, Washington, DC 20036 Zaire Joint Pre-Election Assessment Mission September/October 1996 This Mission and report were made possible by a grant from the United States Agency for International '1.1+'1., Development (USAID). The opinions expressed in this report are solely those of the International Foundation v "'~" ~ ....":" for Election Systems (IFES). This material is in the ~ public domain and may be reproduced without ******* permission, citation is appreciated. ......... Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) International Foundation for Election Systems, Washington, DC 20005 International Republican Institute, Washington, DC 20005 National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, Washington, DC 20036 Published November 1996 Printed in the United States of America Zaire: Joint Pre-Election Assessment Mission, September/October 1996 Zaire: Joint Pre-Election Assessment Mission, September/October 1996 Contents CEPPS Members ........................................................................................................................................ iii The International Foundation for Election Systems ........................................................................... .iii International Republican Institute ........................................................................................................ iii National Democratic Institute .............................................................................................................. iii Foreword ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 I. Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. 2 A. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 2 B. Findings .......................................................................................................................................... 2 C. Goals and Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 3 II. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 4 A. Team Members ............................................................................................................................... 5 B. Methodology and Itinerary ............................................................................................................. 5 III. The Context of Recent Democratization Efforts .................................................................................. 6 A. The Geographic and Historic Context... ......................................................................................... 6 B. The Never-Ending Transition ......................................................................................................... 6 C. The Government and Institutional Context .................................................................................... 9 I. The Presidency ........................................................................................................................... 9 2. High Council of the Republic-Transition Parliament (HCR-PT)............................................. I0 3. The Prime Minister and Transitional Government.. ................................................................ 10 4. The Supreme Court .................................................................................................................. 11 5. Regional Administrations (Territoriales) ................................................................................. 12 6. The Security Forces .................................................................................................................. 12 7. National Election Commission (CNE) ..................................................................................... 12 8. Inter-Ministerial Commission (CIM) ....................................................................................... 13 D. The Regional/Ethnic Context ....................................................................................................... 13 1. The Nationality Issue ................................................................................................................ 14 2. The Refugees ............................................................................................................................ 14 3. North Kivu ................................................................................................................................ 15 4. South Kivu ................................................................................................................................ 15 E. The Economic Context ................................................................................................................. 16 IV. Civil Society and Political Parties. ...................................................................................................... 17 A. The Churches ................................................................................................................................ 17 B. The Human Rights and Democracy Organizations ...................................................................... 17 C. The Economic Development NGOs ............................................................................................. 18 D. The Political Parties..................... :................................................................................................ 18 1. The Presidential Family............................................................................................................ 19 2. The Opposition Family ............................................................................................................. 20 ii Zaire: Joint Pre-Election Assessment Mission, September/October 1996 V. The Framework for Elections ............................................................................................................. 22 A. Election Law and System ............................................................................................................. 22 B. Constituency Delimitation ............................................................................................................ 24 C. Election Management. .................................................................................................................. 24 I. Planning for the Electoral Process .................. ,......................................................................... 25 D. Voter Registration ........................................................................................................................ 27 VI. Key Elements Affecting the Public Confidence ................................................................................. 30 A. Political WilL ................................................................................................................................ 31 B. Relations Between Key Actors ..................................................................................................... 31 C. The Security Forces ...................................................................................................................... 32 D. Informing the Electorate: Communication Networks and Infrastructure. .................................... 33 VII. Findings ............................................................................................................................................. 34 I. Importance of Elections ........................................................................................................... .34 2. Openness of the Political Debate.............................................................................................. 34 3. Some Steps Have Been Taken .................................................................................................. 34 4. Technical and Environmental Issues ........................................................................................ 34 5. Slippage of Electoral Timetable ..............................................................................................