For the information of Security Council members only Election day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1. 0030 December, the Democratic Republic of the Congo held presidential, legislative, and provincial elections with around 39 million voters called to choose a new Head of State (to replace President Kabila), and their members of parliament (at the national and provincial levels) MONUSCO reporis that the vote proceeded in a predominantly peaceful atmosphere and security forces are credited to have acted appropriately in most cases. The Mission notes that delays due to ‘weather, lack of material and malfunctioning voting machines, security incidents, and symbolic acts of defiance by some voters were also recorded. The Commission électorale nationale indépendante (CENT) was generally able to solve these problems with voting allowed to proceed into the late hours. 2. Late on 30 December, Comeille Nangaa, President of the (CEND) stated that over 97% of the polling stations had opened on time (6AM local) and most voting machines worked as planned. “There was no chaos and people voted massively,” he declared. The Conférence épiscopale nationale du Congo (CENCO) ~ which fielded 40,000 electoral observers with over 270 000 acoredited — assessed that the vote took place in a relatively calm atmosphere, although its observers reported delays at polling stations. In Kinshasa, these delays were often caused by voting. lists not being published. In a few rare instances, this did not occur until the early afternoon. As a result, voting hours were extended in many locations. CENCO noted that of the 17,026 reports it had received, 544 related to dysfunctional voting machines. CENCO also noted 115 cases of electoral observers either being prevented from accessing or being expelled from polling stations, 96 cases of party witnesses (out of the several thousand accredited) being prevented from entering polling stations and 44 cases of votes being sold and/or otherwise corrupted. Other incidents wolving polling officials and representatives of political parties, as well as clashes between armed ‘zroups near polling stations in three locations across North Kiva province were reported. MONUSCO also received confirmed reports that in Lurhala, South Kivu, a CENT agent, a civilian and a police officer were killed in an altercation at a polling centre. 3. _Affer casting their ballots in Kinshasa, opposition presidential candidates Martin Payulu and Felix Tshisekedi alluded to the reported incidents, which the latter characterized as “major disorders.” Emmanuel R. Shadary, the candidate of the presidential majority, also called on voters to cast their vote and remain peaceful. President Kabila affirmed that the elections would be “free ‘and fair.” 4, InBeni and Butembo, North Kivu Province, hundreds of people staged a symbolic vote in protest against the decision of the CENI to delay by three months the vote in four electoral districts (Beni, Beni town, Butembo; and Yumbi, in Mai-Ndombe Province). The CEN made the decision on 26 December, invoking security challenges (the threat posed by armed groups in the Beni area) and public health risks (the Ebola epidemic around Beni and Butembo). 5. MONUSCO deployed its mobile monitoring teams across 25 cities and employed its good. offices to help maintain a calm environment on polling day. MONUSCO will continue to closely monitor the situation during the vote counting oe fr Soan-Pierre Lacroix