Kinshasa June 2, 2009 - More than 2500 members of the Congolese National police force (PNC) are following training in Kinshasa (at Lufungula center) by the trainers of MONUC (UNPOL), in order to ensure a safer election, including the revision of the electoral roll and the next local elections.
This training is an update of a course already received by members of the PNC, the previous years. This training cycle which proceeds in 3 stages in Kinshasa, began on Monday June 1 and continues for 3 days.
This first session of training intended for 879 police officers includes, the management of queues in front of polling stations, the escort and transport of the material to the local centers of compilation and the evacuation of currently illegally occupied buildings. The second session of training will take place one week after the end of this one, for 700 agents, and the third will take place after that.
The aim is to train 2,578 agents from the various police stations of Kinshasa, who will be deployed in 143 registration centers in Kinshasa for the revision of the electoral roll, from next June 5.
The meetings will continue at a national level in the coming weeks starting with the PNC of Bas-Congo. In all 75,000 police officers will follow this national training. That would make it possible to ensure the safety of the electoral process in the whole country.
The Police force of the United Nations (UNPOL) is supporting this training with 5 trainers and the PNC with 6. For Kini Ziwakabi, UNPOL officer "this training is a successfully and the Congolese police officers are very interested, the proof is that we expected 700 participants for this first meeting and we are already up to 879".
In Kinshasa, MONUC is also giving training to agents of the PNC on general intelligence gatherings. They are 286 in the capital and another 1700 in the country will receive this training.
The revision of the electoral roll, regarded as the first step towards the next local elections, must begin on June 7 in the city of Kinshasa.