interim report
EISA observer Mission to the DRC Constitutional Referendum, 18 and 19 December 2005 (continued)

1.4. Principles for election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC Region (PEMMO)

The EISA Observer Mission's assessment of the 2005 Constitutional Referendum in the DRC is based on the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC Region (PEMMO). PEMMO is a set of benchmarks against which an election can be measured to assess whether it is free and fair. It was developed by EISA in partnership with the Electoral Commissions Forum (ECF) of SADC Countries, which comprises all the election management bodies in the SADC region. These principles are the result of extensive research and region-wide consultation with electoral stakeholders, in particular electoral management bodies and civil society organisations that operate in the field of elections.

The principles cover the whole electoral process, including the period before, during and after the poll. They provide an objective standard against which an election can be assessed. Furthermore, they constitute a useful tool in the post-election review and for electoral reforms. For observers, PEMMO also outlines guidelines on the expected behaviour for the enhanced credibility of observer groups. After its adoption at a regional conference on 6 November 2003 in Johannesburg, South Africa, PEMMO has been successfully used to assess elections held since April 2004 in the SADC region.

2. Preliminary findings of the Mission

After analysing the observations made by its different teams deployed on the ground and basing itself on norms and guidelines contained in the PEMMO, the EISA Mission has made the following findings:

2.1 The Context and Legal Framework of the 2005 Constitutional Referendum in the DRC

The Mission welcomes the effective organisation of the Constitutional Referendum, as it constitutes the first genuinely democratic poll held on a national scale in the DRC for the last four decades.

The Mission noted the fact that the Global and Inclusive Agreement signed in Pretoria in December 2003, within the framework of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, is the basic document defining the context in which the Referendum process takes place in the DRC. The Global and Inclusive Agreement essentially outlines the fundamental aspects of the Political Transition and the schedule for its implementation. Section IV of the Agreement stipulates that the transition stretches over a period of 24 months which can be extended by a further six-month period renewable once, should circumstances require so. The Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) is the institution responsible for the organisation of the referendum and elections at all levels.

The transitional Parliament adopted the law pertaining to the referendum (Law No. 05/22 of 22 June 2005), which provides the legal framework for the organisation of the Constitutional Referendum in the DRC and lays down the guidelines for the good conduct of the aforesaid referendum.