DRC ELECTION CAMPAIGN UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 001635 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM CG ELECTIONS SUBJECT: DRC ELECTION CAMPAIGN UPDATE REF: A. KINSHASA 1623 ¶B. KINSHASA 1622 ¶1. (U) Summary: With five days remaining until the DRC's October 29 presidential and provincial assembly elections, logistical aspects remain on track. A post-election agreement governing the status of the electoral loser has yet to be agreed upon, with advisers to President Kabila calling such a document "unconstitutional." The general security situation in the country remains calm, although minor security incidents between rival political camps have been reported in the east. The European Union Force (EUFOR) is sending an additional 220 troops to Kinshasa to bolster its presence in the capital, while in Kisangani, patrols to reduce the number of weapons in circulation has been deemed a "success" by MONUC's commander there. End summary. -------------- - LOGISTICS STILL ON TRACK, PROCEDURES CLARIFIED -------------- - ¶2. (U) The Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) reports no substantial delays or logistical problems with the delivery of election materials to the 50,045 voting sites throughout the country. The chiefs of voting centers will begin training the nearly 250,000 polling station workers October 24. The training will serve as a refresher course and introduce minor procedural changes. ¶3. (SBU) The CEI published October 20 a list of changes aimed at improving voting operations. It clarified logistical aspects of the vote-counting and compilation processes. One change will allow spouses and children of military and police personnel, who are posted in a region different that there they originally registered, to vote in their districts by special dispensation. The only other voters allowed to vote outside their registered districts are members of the Electoral Commission, accredited political party witnesses, and election observers, plus journalists and government employees on official business. Voting by military family members in some parts of eastern DRC during the July 30 election was a point of confusion, leading to allegations of fraud by some political party witnesses. ¶4. (U) The CEI also clarified the process of transporting and compiling ballots and tally sheets by detailing the specific chain of custody required. Collection of voting material was a major logistical problem during the first round, creating significant delays in reporting results. The CEI transmitted procedures and timetables for paying agents. It reminded all polling agents that it was their responsibility to provide their own food during voting operations. Many had complained that the CEI, although under no obligation to do so, had failed to provide food during the first round vote. ¶5. (U) The CEI also released a separate decision authorizing the destruction or recycling of voting materials used in previous elections. Faced with a limited amount of storage space, the CEI ordered the destruction of unused documents and ballots from the voting registration period, the December 2005 constitutional referendum, and the July 30 presidential and legislative elections. Unusable cardboard voting booths and plastic ballot boxes will also be destroyed. Special national, provincial and local commissions have been established to review procedures for the burning or recycling of the material. The CEI decreed that such activity take place before political party witnesses and journalists. ¶6. (SBU) Two voting center chiefs were arrested October 19 in Aru in northern Ituri District for stealing the salaries of poll workers. The two supervisors had disappeared with approximately 3,400 USD, which also included funds to cover operational and transport needs. According to the CEI in Aru, the officials were arrested by Congolese police and are currently being detained for questioning. The accused have been replaced pending a final decision by the CEI. -------------- STILL NO POST-ELECTION ACCORD -------------- ¶7. (SBU) An agreement governing the status of the political minority and the presidential election loser has not yet been signed. Francois Muamba, Secretary General of Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba's Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC),and Thomas Luhaka, the MLC's Executive Secretary, both KINSHASA 00001635 002 OF 003 said the party is prepared to sign the accord. Alliance for the President Majority (AMP) spokesman Olivier Kamitatu said in a press conference October 19 that Kabila and his supporters consider any separate agreement a violation of the law, as the DRC's new constitution (adopted in December) outlines the rights of the opposition. Kamitatu said any laws governing the status of the minority or opposition must come from the new National Assembly. -------------- CAMPAIGN INCIDENTS IN EASTERN DRC -------------- ¶8. (U) Isolated incidents of campaign-related violence have been reported in the southern city of Lubumbashi. Bemba supporters Pastor Theodore Ngoy was attacked by Kabila supporters and forced to seek refuge in his local hotel (ref B). On October 20, Kabila partisans continued harassment of Ngoy and MLC supporters and prevented them from leaving the hotel. MONUC police eventually intervened and escorted Ngoy to MONUC headquarters. Meanwhile, several posters with Bemba's image throughout the city were defaced or torn down. ¶9. (U) The governor of Katanga called a meeting of the two camps October 21. A follow-up meeting was scheduled for October 23, but according to press reports, local Kabila organizer and former Katanga governor Gabriel Kyungu arrived late and said he could not take part because of pressing campaign duties. He reportedly refused to shake Ngoy's hand because he believed Ngoy had insulted Kabila in his campaign speeches. ¶10. (U) MONUC-operated Radio Okapi reported October 23 that MLC campaigning was hindered the weekend of October 21-22 from campaigning in the city of Kindu in the eastern province of Maniema. The MLC's federal president said several of the party's supporters were attacked for wearing MLC or Bemba t-shirts. In addition, MLC posters were burned in several quarters of the city. Kabila's mother, Mama Sifa, campaigned in Kindu this past weekend. ¶11. (SBU) MONUC military reports stated that on October 20, elements of the Congolese police and military surrounded the residence of Anselme Enerunga, the MLC campaign director in Bukavu. Enerunga, who had accused Congolese security forces of harassment earlier in the week (ref B),had arrived in Bukavu with eight uniformed guards in his capacity as Minister of Environment. When his term expired the following day, he lost the right to be provided armed protection, and five of his guards were therefore taken under the command of the local FARDC commander. The police and military elements arrived to disarm the remaining three. The MONUC South Kivu Brigade commander and the MONUC-Bukavu Head of Office arrived at the residence to defuse the situation. MONUC reports that the MLC is freely campaigning throughout the province. ¶12. (U) In North Kivu province, Radio Okapi reported that AMP-affiliated candidates were prevented from campaigning in Masisi October 22 by non-integrated elements of the Congolese military. AMP regional coordinator Jules Mugira claimed he was blocked by members of the FARDC 81st Brigade (suspected of being loyal to rebel General Laurent Nkunda) from entering the village of Karuba while trying to distribute pro-Kabila campaign material. Mugira said he was told military training was ongoing in the area and access was being restricted, although other vehicles were being allowed to pass. Radio Okapi also reported that two independent candidates for provincial assembly seats were arrested in the town of Kitshanga by soldiers loyal to Nkunda. Both were released after being held for a brief period. Nkunda had reportedly agreed that his forces would not prevent any candidates from campaigning in the area. -------------- "WEAPONS-FREE" KISANGANI DECLARED A SUCCESS -------------- ¶13. (U) Joint security patrols in Kisangani began October 13 to reduce the number of arms in circulation in the city. MONUC-Kisangani Force Commander Col. Edouard Mbengue claimed the patrols have thus far been a "big success," particularly in diminishing the number of military personnel moving about the city at night. Mbengue said everyone has obeyed the new regulations and only those authorized to do so have the right to move about the city while armed. There have been no reports of weapons confiscated or arrests made, however. The KINSHASA 00001635 003 OF 003 patrols in Kisangani are expected to continue until November 20, unless the security situation there requires their continuation. -------------- EUFOR BRINGS IN ADDITIONAL FORCES -------------- ¶14. (U) EUFOR spokesman Lt. Col. Thierry Fulsaba said October 20 the EU mission is bringing in 220 additional German and Dutch troops to augment the EUFOR presence in Kinshasa. The supplemental forces will be flown in from their base in Libreville, Gabon, to assist in the joint security patrols and rapid-reaction units already in place. The total EUFOR presence with these new troops will reach some 1,400 soldiers. ¶15. (U) EUFOR commander General Karl Viereck said in an October 23 press conference in Kinshasa that he does not believe it necessary to extend EUFOR's mandate past November ¶30. Viereck said he was convinced the elections will take place peacefully. MEECE