DRC ELECTION DAY: SITREP 3, 10/29 1600

UNCLAS KINSHASA 001673 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM CG ELECTIONS SUBJECT: DRC ELECTION DAY: SITREP 3, 10/29 1600 REF: A. KINSHASA 1672 ¶B. KINSHASA 1671 ¶1. (U) The heavy rain that began early this morning in Kinshasa stopped around 1400 local time. Embassy observers in the capital report that voter turnout since midday has slowly and steadily increased as the rain abated. The Ambassador and DAS Don Yamamoto are leading a 15-member team of Embassy observers in the capital who are monitoring voting operations and the counting process throughout the day. Polls that opened on time in the east will have begun closing. ¶2. (U) The Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) has not extended voting hours in Kinshasa because of inclement weather, contrary to some local media reports. CEI spokesman Dieudonne Mirimo clarified remarks by CEI President Apollinaire Malu Malu that polling stations will remain "open all night if necessary to allow people to vote." Mirimo told us the CEI's existing rules remain in force: polling stations operate for 11 hours, any site that opened after the 0600 scheduled starting time must remain open for those 11 hours, and any voter waiting in line at closing will be able to vote. He said voting could continue well into the evening in Kinshasa because many polling sites opened late due to the rain. ¶3. (U) Scattered acts of violence have been reported in Equateur province. The most serious occurred in Bumba, approximately 680 miles northeast of Kinshasa, where MONUC officials report at least one person died of gunshot wounds at a voting center this morning. The incident began with rumors that pre-marked ballots for President Kabila had been found in a polling station before voting had begun. According to MONUC's office in the provincial capital of Mbanbanka, Congolese police providing security at the site fired shots into the air to disperse a crowd which had converged on the station and was throwing stones and beating the polling center manager. Elements from the nearby Naval Forces base and the Congolese military arrived and also began shooting. ¶4. (U) MONUC told us police reports indicate at least one person was killed and three wounded in the incident, although it has received other, unconfirmed information that as three may have died. The violence also forced suspension of operations at about ten voting centers in Bumba, accounting for some 60 polling stations, because of damage to the centers and stolen voting materials. MONUC indicated that the CEI intends to re-open the centers and continue voting within the next 24 hours. MONUC also reported that a pro-Kabila radio station in Bumba had been stoned. ¶5. (U) In Bikoro in southern Equateur, MONUC has received a report that unidentified gunmen attacked a voting station, destroying at least two polling centers and stealing several packets of electoral material. ¶6. (U) Elsewhere, observers and Embassy contacts throughout the country report that voting operations are proceeding smoothly and peacefully. The Carter Center told us their observers in all 11 provinces have reported that voting is proceeding with no major incidents. Other reports indicate few procedural glitches, generally good organization and minimal waiting time for voters. The number of political party witnesses and Congolese observers also appears to be much higher than in the July 30 vote. MEECE