DRC ELECTIONS: THE NATIONWIDE STATISTICS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001757 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM CG ELECTIONS SUBJECT: DRC ELECTIONS: THE NATIONWIDE STATISTICS ¶1. (U) The DRC's Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) announced provisional presidential election results November 15, giving President Kabila victory over Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba by 58.05 to 41.95 percent. A total of 16.2 million valid votes were cast, with a nationwide participation rate of slightly more than 65 percent. More than 2.6 million votes separated the two candidates. ¶2. (U) Kabila dominated in the DRC's eastern provinces, as expected. He won 92 percent of the votes in the provinces of Katanga, Orientale, Maniema, and North and South Kivu, an increase of nearly 13 percent from the July 30 first round. He also won significant portions of the vote in key western regions. In Bandundu, the stronghold of his ally Antoine Gizenga, Kabila won 39 percent of the vote; in Kinshasa, where Gizenga is also popular, he won 32 percent. Kabila had won just three percent in Bandundu and 15 percent in Kinshasa in the last round. ¶3. (U) Bemba was similarly dominant in western and central regions. He won slightly more than 78 percent of the combined vote in Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, and Kinshasa provinces. In the central Kasai provinces, he won nearly 73 percent of the vote. ¶4. (U) The average turnout rate of 65 percent is down almost six percent from the July 30 vote. Participation fell approximately ten percent in western provinces and nearly five percent in eastern provinces. Turnout increased nearly five percent in Eastern and Western Kasai provinces. ¶5. (U) The following is a breakdown by province of participation rates and each candidate's percentages: -------------- BANDUNDU -------------- Bemba won Bandundu with nearly 61 percent; he had received ten percent July 30. While Kabila won just 39 percent, this is a 15-fold increase from the first round, when Gizenga carried the province with 80 percent. Turnout was 50.63 percent, down approximately 18 percent from the first round and nearly 13 percent from the December 2005 constitutional referendum. -------------- BAS-CONGO -------------- Bemba won Bas-Congo by 74 to 26 percent. He won a plurality here July 30 with 36 percent, compared to 14 percent for Kabila. Participation was again much lower than the national average and fell the most of any province from July 30 levels. Turnout was 51.59 percent, down more than 24 percent compared to the first round and more than 10 percent from the referendum. -------------- EASTERN KASAI -------------- Bemba took the central province of Eastern Kasai with more than 67 percent. Kabila's overall share dropped 3.5 percent compared to his first round total; he had won a plurality then with 36 percent. Participation increased by slightly more than three percent to 43 percent, helped primarily by significant increases of 30 and 25 percent, respectively, in Mbuji-Mayi and Miabi. In more than half the province's districts participation was down nearly 18 percent. -------------- EQUATEUR -------------- Bemba had his strongest showing in his home province of Equateur, where he outpolled Kabila 97 to three percent. He won this province in the last round with nearly 64 percent of the vote; Kabila won two percent. Equateur had the highest turnout rate of the DRC's eleven provinces with 84.45 percent, an increase of ten percent. -------------- KATANGA -------------- Kabila won Katanga with 94 percent of the vote, an increase KINSHASA 00001757 002 OF 002 of 16 percent from the first round. Bemba doubled his percentage in the province, but from only three percent to six percent. Turnout increased in Katanga to 75 percent, up four points from the first round. -------------- KINSHASA -------------- Bemba retained his majority in Kinshasa with 68 percent. Both candidates improved their scores compared to the July 30 vote. Kabila went from just under 15 percent to 32 percent. In districts dominated by his ally Gizenga, Kabila won up to 40 percent of the vote. Turnout decreased considerably, down to 58 percent from the July 30 rate of 70 percent. -------------- MANIEMA -------------- Kabila easily won Maniema with just over 98 percent. He had won the province in the first round with 90 percent. Bemba took less than two percent. Turnout was 80 percent, down nearly five percent from July 30 levels. -------------- NORTH KIVU -------------- Kabila also won in North Kivu with nearly 96 percent, up from his first round total of 78 percent. Bemba improved from less than one percent to 3.5 percent. Participation in the province was about 77 percent, down nearly four percent. -------------- ORIENTALE -------------- Kabila took the northeastern province of Orientale, but not by as wide a margin as other eastern regions. He won more than 79 percent here, up from his first-round total of 70 percent. Bemba had received five percent in the first round, and increased this to 20 percent, carrying districts mostly in western areas near Equateur. Orientale was the only province where Kabila votes decreased in total number. Turnout was down 14 points to 64 percent. -------------- SOUTH KIVU -------------- Kabila captured his home province of South Kivu with more than 98 percent. He had won here with nearly 95 percent in the last round. Turnout decreased approximately six points to 84 percent, still well above the national average. -------------- WESTERN KASAI -------------- Bemba won the central province of Western Kasai with nearly 77 percent. He had won a plurality here in the last round with nearly 32 percent. Kabila, who took about 11 percent previously, increased his share to 23 percent. Turnout also went up in Western Kasai to more than 51 percent, an increase of more than six points from the first round. Participation was notably greater in western areas near Tshikapa, where there is a large base of support for Gizenga, and where Kabila realized some of his best scores in the province. MEECE