DRC CAMPAIGN ELECTION UPDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001622 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM CG ELECTIONS SUBJECT: DRC CAMPAIGN ELECTION UPDATE REF: KINSHASA 1603 Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Representatives of President Joseph Kabila and Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba have signed an agreement detailing the code of conduct for the presidential campaign. There is not yet agreement, however, regarding the adoption of a post-electoral accord providing certain guarantees to the losing candidate. The two camps have restarted regular Mixed Commission meetings, and Kabila and Bemba have met personally. Security patrols continue in Kinshasa to reduce the number of weapons in circulation, and DRC security forces have agreed to deploy similar verification teams in Kisangani. Several limited acts of violence have occurred in eastern DRC between partisans of the two sides. End summary. -------------- CAMPAIGN CODE OF CONDUCT SIGNED -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Representatives of President Kabila and Vice President Bemba signed an agreement October 17 laying out a code of good conduct for the presidential election campaign already underway. The Kabila representatives had delayed signing the accord after Bemba's camp added certain amendments. MONUC officials said the sticking point was the prohibition on the use of state resources by either candidate in the course of the campaign. Kabila's camp ultimately agreed to the provision. This is the fourth code of conduct signed during the electoral process, following an initial code adopted in 2005, an agreement to include independent candidates in 2006, and regulations for media coverage signed in September. ¶3. (U) The code of conduct calls on both camps to abstain from any acts of intimidation against the candidates themselves or their representatives, including attempts to limit the freedom of movement or expression. In addition to the prohibition of the use of state resources, the agreement also asks for the respect of private property and rival campaign materials. Finally, the accord stipulates that both sides must remove any representative who violates the code of conduct, and to turn such persons over to the competent authorities. ¶4. (C) An agreement to govern the post-election period has not yet been adopted. This accord would ensure certain rights for the loser of the October 29 presidential contest. MONUC officials said Bemba's representatives are seeking �0A;clarification over whether a post-election agreement would be valid if one party violates the campaign code of conduct. ¶5. (U) The most recent code of conduct was adopted in the context of a Mixed Commission created to bring the Kabila and Bemba camps together after the August 20-22 violence in Kinshasa. The group met for the first time in two weeks October 17, and again on October 18. Kabila and Bemba met face-to-face October 16 on the margins of a regular Presidential meeting in Kinshasa. -------------- MAINTAINING A "WEAPONS-FREE KINSHASA" -------------- ¶6. (U) MONUC military spokesman Lt. Col. Stephane Lescoffit said that the work of the mixed security patrols in Kinshasa continue to produce results. The patrols, designed to created a "weapons-free Kinshasa," have thus far conducted inspections of 125 military personnel. In total, Lescoffit said, 30 weapons have been seized and 30 people have been arrested for possession of a firearm outside of their regular duties. The security patrols include elements from the Congolese police and military, MONUC, and EUFOR. ¶7. (U) Lescoffit said MONUC has established military observers at several points throughout Kinshasa. The goal of these teams is to survey military camps and depots and to monitor the possible movement of equipment. Lescoffit did not give details on how MONUC might control any suspicious troop movements, saying only that MONUC "has the means to act." ¶8. (U) In an attempt to build on the relative success of the Kinshasa patrols, MONUC has begun a similar effort in Kisangani, the capital of Orientale province. Joint patrols -- to include MONUC, the Congolese military and police, plus the Republican Guard -- will take place before and after the KINSHASA 00001622 002 OF 002 October 29 election. -------------- CAMPAIGN-RELATED VIOLENCE IN EASTERN DRC -------------- ¶9. (U) A handful of security incidents and other harassment related to the presidential campaign have been reported. In Lubumbashi on October 18, a convoy of Bemba supporters was attacked by a crowd of people wearing Kabila t-shirts and caps while on its way to a rally in the city. The members of the convoy, led by Pastor Theodore Ngoy, were stoned by the crowd and quickly sought shelter in a nearby hotel. No injuries were reported, although vehicles were damaged. The pro-Kabila leader of a local political party, Gabriel Kyungu, is suspected of being behind the attack. Kyungu reportedly had recently told journalists that he and his party would not allow Bemba supporters to campaign in Lubumbashi, and several of his party's followers were heard shouting slogans to that effect in the city yesterday. ¶10. (U) Another Bemba supporter has claimed he and his colleagues were harassed by state security forces after arriving in Bukavu in South Kivu province. Anselme Enerunga, former Minister of Environment and member of the pro-Bemba Mai-Mai Patriots party, claimed he was prevented from campaigning by members of a Congolese military battalion, who would not let his team put up Bebma posters. Enerunga also claimed five of his guards have been missing since an army raid at his residence in Bukavu earlier this week. ¶11. (U) The International Committee to Accompany the Transition (CIAT) issued a communique October 19 welcoming the campaign code of conduct. The CIAT members, however, expressed their concern over the series of incidents that have occurred in the first week of the electoral campaign. The communique called upon all political parties to follow the provisions of the code of conduct. MEECE