DRC: Women's vote tilts balance in DRC's constitutional referendum

The people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) voted a resounding "yes" at their Constitutional Referendum held in December 2005. The results of the referendum, announced by the President of the Independent Electoral Commission in January this year, showed that women had turned out in significant numbers to cast their votes. 60% of all voters were women, and 72% of the more than 9 million women registered as voters chose to endorse their Constitution.