19 December 2005
The weekend constitutional referendum in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was carried out peacefully throughout the country with few incidents, the United Nations mission there reported today.
The vote, the first democratic ballot held in the DRC since 1965 and one of the biggest polls the UN has ever been involved in, with 36,000 vote offices, nearly 200,000 electoral agents and 25 million voters, was organized by the country's Independent Electoral Commission, with the UN Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUC) providing technical and logistical assistance.
If approved, the draft constitution would pave the way for the DRC's first democratic elections next year.
Provisional results are due to be announced later this evening by the electoral authorities, while the definitive tally is expected to be officially declared on 18 January.
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