DRC ELECTIONS: AFRICAN OBSERVER MISSIONS GIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001249 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM KPKO CG ELECTIONS SUBJECT: DRC ELECTIONS: AFRICAN OBSERVER MISSIONS GIVE POSITIVE REPORTS ON VOTING REF: KINSHASA 1213 (NOTAL) ¶1. (U) Summary: Several African election observation missions have released their preliminary statements regarding the DRC's July 30 president and legislative elections. While noting the logistical challenges poll workers faced, most African missions declared the vote to have been conducted successfully and peacefully. No African mission has yet pronounced the elections free and fair, but the overall initial sentiment from these groups has been that any irregularities witnessed during the electoral process will not have a major impact on the legitimacy or outcome of the vote. End summary. -------------- AU: VOTE AN EXPRESSION OF COMMITMENT TO PEACE -------------- ¶2. (U) The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU) released its first post-election statement August 4. The Council, which deployed 78 observers throughout the country, commended the Congolese for going to the polls in large numbers and in a peaceful manner. The Council noted that such participation expressed voters' "commitment to peace, security, stability, and democracy." The Council further commended the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) for the "quality" of the organization of the polls, despite the enormous challenges it faced, including the size of the country and the lack of infrastructure. Finally, the statement appealed to all political and media actors to refrain from making any statements that "could impact negatively on the electoral process and the successful conclusion" of the DRC's transition. ¶3. (U) During an August 6 press conference in Kinshasa, the head of the AU's observer mission Theophile Nata said several "inconsistencies" were apparent during the July 30 election. Nata in particular noted the destruction of some voting sites and election material (reftel),voter lists not being posted in some locations, and the massive size of legislative ballots in certain districts. Nata added, though, that such irregularities did not fundamentally undermine the credibility of the elections themselves. -------------- SADC-PF: ELECTIONS PROVIDED FREEDOM OF CHOICE -------------- ¶4. (U) The Southern African Development Community-Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF) observer mission (composed of 155 members) released its preliminary statement on elections August 3 in Kinshasa, concluding that elections were "conducted under an environment that gave the people of Congo the opportunity to express their free will to vote for candidates of their choice." The SADC-PF mission stated such conditions conformed to regional electoral norms and standards. The SADC-PF statement noted several "good practices" followed by the CEI and Congolese political actors, including a largely free and peaceful election campaign, a transparent and orderly voting operations process, high voter turnout, and the non-intrusive presence of police forces at polling stations. ¶5. (U) While the SADC-PF mission was generally satisfied with the conduct of elections, it noted several weak points and challenges which faced election workers. The statement said, however, that such problems -- such as the lack of electricity and delays in opening some voting sites -- affected only a small fraction of the 49,736 polling stations. The SADC-PF statement condemned as well the few isolated cases of violence that occurred immediately before and during the elections in Kinshasa, Mbuji Mayi and Mweka (reftel),but added that these incidents did not significantly affect the electoral process. The SADC-PF mission further urged the CEI and political actors to improve their efforts in voter education, to increase the participation of women, and to strengthen the capacity of media watchdogs so as to better regulate campaign coverage. -------------- - COMESA: OPERATIONS WELL ORGANIZED, TRANSPARENT -------------- - ¶6. (U) Much like its counterparts, the observer mission from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) KINSHASA 00001249 002 OF 002 congratulated the Congolese and the CEI for overcoming enormous logistical challenges to hold successful elections. The COMESA mission, in an August 2 preliminary statement, noted that its observers considered the elections to have been fairly well organized, conducted and managed in a transparent manner, and that the overall atmosphere was peaceful. COMESA observers said voters who went to the polls July 30 were clearly able to express their wishes through the ballot unimpeded. The COMESA mission, noting the difficulty in collecting and tabulating results, called upon the international community to continue supporting the CEI and the DRC's electoral process to ensure the creation of a democratic system. -------------- - EISA: IMPERFECTIONS DID NOT JEOPARDIZE PROCESS -------------- - ¶7. (U) The Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA), which has conducted many voter education campaigns and conflict resolution seminars in advance of the DRC elections, also released August 2 an interim statement from its observer mission. The EISA contingent declared that the elections were conducted in a manner that allowed voters to express their "democratic choice without hindrance," and congratulated the Congolese for their "political maturity" and the peaceful manner in which elections were conducted. EISA noted in particular that the high voter turnout will "assist in giving credibility" to the process and will "truly reflect the wishes of the Congolese" themselves, thereby strengthening democratic institutions. The EISA statement did note many of the irregularities and problems encountered on voting day and in the election campaign, such as unequal access to media, isolated cases of violence, and political parties' seeming lack of dedication to voter education. Nonetheless, the EISA mission declared that the "imperfections" of the DRC's elections were "not of a nature of jeopardize the outcome of the process, or to put in doubt its sincerity and integrity." -------------- - COMMENT: IMPORTANCE OF THE AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE -------------- - ¶8. (SBU) The African election observation missions may not have fielded the largest observer teams in the DRC, but their declarations on the elections certainly carry significant weight. Initial statements from neighboring countries that the vote was generally well organized and seemingly transparent can help calm suspicions and lower post-election accusations that the process was fraudulent or otherwise "rigged." The European Union and the Carter Center are perhaps the more prestigious election monitoring organizations, but statements of support from African countries are just as important in establishing the credibility and acceptance of the post-transition GDRC. End comment. MEECE