DRC ELECTIONS: ELECTORAL COMMISSION PUBLISHES LIST

UNCLAS KINSHASA 001853 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM CG ELECTIONS SUBJECT: DRC ELECTIONS: ELECTORAL COMMISSION PUBLISHES LIST OF SENATORIAL CANDIDATES ¶1. (U) Summary: The DRC's Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) published December 12 the provisional list of 1,127 candidates running for the 108 seats available in the national Senate. Former Vice Presidents Jean-Pierre Bemba and Abdoulaye Yerodia, along with several former presidential candidates and government officials, are among those running. Senate elections are scheduled for January 7. End summary. ¶2. (U) Several well-known Congolese political figures from the transitional government have registered as candidates for the new DRC Senate. Former Vice President Bemba is running as a candidate of his Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) party in Kinshasa, while former Vice President Yerodia, of the pro-Kabila People's Party for Reconstruction and Development (PPRD),is running in Bas-Congo province. The DRC's two other transitional vice presidents, Azarias Ruberwa and Z'ahidi Ngoma, did not file for Senate seats. ¶3. (U) Other Senate contenders include many former presidential candidates and government officials. This list includes Scientific Research Minister Gerard Kamanda wa Kamanda, former Transport Minister Joseph Olenghankoy, former Agriculture Minister (under Mobutu) Wivine N'Landu, former Mines Minister Eugene Diomi, Transition Senator Pierre Matusila, Mobutu-era Prime Ministers Vincent Lunda Bululu and Kengo wa Dondo, former Finance Minister Andre Philippe Futa, Kabila chief of staff Leonard She Okitundu, and U.S.-based physician Oscar Kashala. ¶4. (U) The pro-Kabila PPRD fielded the most candidates with ¶96. Bemba's MLC has registered 66. A total of 291 candidates -- roughly 26 percent -- are running as independents. ¶5. (U) Senate elections are scheduled for January 7. Senators will be chosen by members of the provincial assemblies elected October 29. Kinshasa will be represented by eight senators while each of the DRC's 25 other provinces will have four, according to the decentralization plan outlined in the new constitution. Based on results from the October 29 provincial assembly elections, at least 12 of the 26 assemblies will be controlled by the pro-Kabila Alliance for the Presidential Majority (AMP) coalition; six, including Kinshasa, will have majorities led by the pro-Bemba Union for the Nation alliance; and the remaining eight assemblies are largely split, which will factor into Senatorial choices. Current plans call for the Senate to be installed January 28. MEECE