FAILED CANDIDATES DENOUNCE PRESIDENTIAL VOTE

UNCLAS KINSHASA 001752 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM CG ELECTIONS SUBJECT: FAILED CANDIDATES DENOUNCE PRESIDENTIAL VOTE REF: A. KINSHASA 1674 ¶B. KINSHASA 1746 ¶C. KINSHASA 1740 ¶1. (SBU) Fifteen members of Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba's presidential campaign alliance, including Oscar Kashala, issued a statement November 14 denouncing the DRC Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) for releasing fraudulent vote tallies. All except Roger Lumbala, whose election to parliament was recently invalidated, are failed first-round presidential candidates who joined with Bemba in the Union for the Nation (UN) electoral coalition for the second. Neither Bemba nor any member of his Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) party signed the document. There is no factual evidence to support any of the claims in the statement and a great deal of factual evidence to prove just the contrary. ¶2. (SBU) The statement accused the CEI of stealing the election for President Joseph Kabila. The 15 claimed that their figures indicate Bemba won the election with 52.5 percent of the vote; CEI totals show approximately 58 percent for Kabila and 42 percent for Bemba (septel). They particularly denounced as exaggerated participation rates released by the CEI for the eastern part of the country, where Kabila has his core support. They claimed that "information in their possession from credible sources" indicated that eastern participation could not have exceeded 50 percent. Again, the claims have no basis in fact. ¶3. (SBU) The 15 "reserved the right" to renege on an election-day accord signed by negotiators for Kabila and Bemba to respect results published by the CEI (ref A). They demanded that the CEI refrain from announcing provisional results until it explains all "contradictory" information. They praised Cardinal Etsou for his November 13 declaration questioning the CEI totals (ref B) and invited others "to have the courage" to denounce them. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: The statement is another in a series of screeds emanating from minor league players trying somehow to stay in the big leagues. The danger of such statements is that in a rumor-fueled political environment, there will invariably be citizens who take them for the truth. End comment. MEECE