Kindu, 20 December 2010 – In the framework of the ongoing process for the review of voters' list in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO's Gender and Electoral Division was in Kindu today to sensitize women on the need for their participation at the electoral process.

The review of the voters' list, which was launched recently, has not attracted much interest in many areas of eastern Congo. It is against this background that the team made up of members of the Independent Electoral Commission, the Office for Electoral Representation and MONUSCO's regional Electoral Section in Kindu brought together hundreds of women who are well established through voters' networks in the province to further sentisize them on the exercise. They were called upon to carry the message on the importance of women's participation to the remote areas of the province.

Women accounted for 52.7% of the electorate in 2005-2006, a clear indication that women have a real weight on the country's political scene today.

Similar visits by the Gender and Electoral Divisions are planned for the rest of the country's provinces.
The review of the voters' list, which started in Maniema province on 20 November 2010, is expected to end on 17 February 2011.

Leone Hettenbergh/MONUSCO