ELECTIONS: ITURI POLITICS NOT YET IN FULL BLOOM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000788 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KPKO CG UG ELECTIONS SUBJECT: ELECTIONS: ITURI POLITICS NOT YET IN FULL BLOOM Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In contrast to the open displays of political showmanship elsewhere in the DRC, Ituri District has yet to see much public electoral campaigning within its borders. Political parties freely operate in the region, but the practice of politics remains largely out of public view, as political parties were outlawed for several years in Ituri, and their activities are just now becoming more accepted. Nevertheless, Congolese throughout Ituri eagerly await the July 30 presidential and legislative elections and regard the opportunity to vote as a chance to resolve persistent security and economic concerns. End summary. -------------- ITURI: SEPARATE AND APART -------------- ¶2. (U) During a visit to Ituri District May 6-10, PolOff met with a variety of political and civil society representatives, religious leaders, MONUC staff, and government officials in an effort to assess preparations for the upcoming July 30 presidential and legislative elections. Those PolOff spoke to in the principal towns of Bunia, Mahagi and Aru all generally agreed that the population would participate in large numbers during elections. What many bemoaned, however, was the lack of understanding -- both among voters and political parties -- regarding practical matters surrounding the electoral process, such as how to vote, what the DRC's constitution and electoral law guaranteed as the rights of all citizens, and the general guidelines of political campaigns. ¶3. (U) Part of the reason for the political vacuum in Ituri stems from the district's unique historical, ethnic and security problems, in addition to the system of rule established there after the war. Ituri has long been a region beset by ethnic strife, often between indigenous Hema and Lendu tribes that fought for control of land and resources. These conflicts had little if anything to do with the larger security concerns plaguing the DRC, notably in terms of the infiltration of foreign armed groups. Starting in 1998, though, existing tensions were exacerbated when Ugandan actors manipulated the local population and created proxy militias to battle for control of resources such as gold and timber. The Ituri militias fighting today against the Congolese army are a result of these influences. Ituri has also been more politically isolated from the rest of the DRC as a result of its geography. Bordering Lake Albert and Uganda, local commerce has been more traditionally oriented towards the East (Uganda) rather than the South (the Kivus) or the West (Kisangani, and ultimately, Kinshasa). Consequently, Iturians felt less a part of the DRC and more as an independently-operating entity. ¶4. (SBU) This mindset was recognized when, after the war ended in 2003, the central government in Kinshasa established a quasi-independent interim administration to govern Ituri. Effectively, Ituri became an area separate and apart from the rest of the country's governing structure. In addition, because of the ethnic strife in Ituri, political activities were forbidden and political parties were not allowed to operate. Political life, then, was dormant in Ituri until 2005, when the ban was lifted. As a result, political activity is still viewed with some suspicion by the local population, and outward displays of political activity remain rare. -------------- "WE'RE JUST WAKING UP" -------------- ¶5. (C) Several details from PolOff's recent visit to Ituri illustrate this point. First, the Ituri District Commissioner, Petronille Vaweka, while a well-known and popular figure in Bunia, is not officially a member of any political party. (Note: While Vaweka is technically independent, she is nonetheless an ally of the People's Party for Reconstruction and Development, PPRD, and has sought political counsel from party leaders during visits to Kinshasa. End note.) Second, despite being welcomed by large and boisterous crowds during his visits to North and South Kivu provinces, PPRD Secretary General Vital Kamerhe's visit to Bunia in early May was largely kept a secret. While MONUC officials were aware of Kamerhe's trip, the local Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) coordinator and a representative of Bunia's Civil Society told PolOff they were completely unaware Kamerhe had been in Bunia. Finally, perhaps the most telling bit of evidence about the lack of political activity in Ituri was the absence of party flags throughout the District. Unlike along the roads in North Kivu, where each village sported at least a few party flags, PolOff saw only a handful of flags in all of Ituri -- and the majority of those flew from local party offices. The dearth of flags -- an indicator of political activity throughout the DRC -- would suggest that citizen involvement in political activities is not yet in full bloom in Ituri. ¶6. (C) Iturians are just now becoming engaged in the approaching electoral scrum. The DRC's major political parties all have set up offices in Ituri's major towns, and there is a growing understanding among potential voters about what elections mean and why it is important to vote. However, political parties generally lack sufficient financing to conduct electoral campaigns, and few voters have seen copies of the country's constitution or electoral law. The Bishop of Bunia, Monsignor Dieudonne Ulingi, said this lack of information leaves voters susceptible to manipulation by outside forces or more sophisticated political parties. Emmanuel Ngabu, a member of Bunia civil society and a teacher at the local university, underlined this vulnerability when he told PolOff, "We're just waking up." -------------- PPRD THE EARLY FRONT-RUNNER -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Nearly all officials PolOff spoke to from Bunia to Aru agreed that the PPRD was the best-implanted and best-prepared political party in Ituri. The District has been increasingly garnering the attention of party officials, most notably with the visit (albeit unpublicized) of the PPRD Secretary General. The Vice Governor of Orientale province, SIPDIS also a PPRD member, visited Aru and Mahagi during PolOff's trip as well. Monsignor Ulingi of Bunia explained the PPRD's appeal among the population was based on hopes for peace and security. Ulingi said people approved the constitution during the December referendum because they believed a vote for the constitution was a vote for President Kabila. Ulingi also said Iturians view Kabila as having improved security in Ituri through his support of MONUC. Therefore, per the Bishop, a vote for Kabila is a vote for security. ¶8. (SBU) Other parties currently with a presence in Ituri, although generally minimal, include Vice President Bemba's Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC),Vice President Ruberwa's Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD),and Mbusa Nyamwisi's Rally for Congolese Democracy-Kisangani/Liberation Movement (RCD-K/ML). However, as many in Ituri explained, these parties -- including the PPRD -- lack well-developed political platforms or ideas to attract voters. The assistant Bishop of Mahagi, Monsignor Leonard, said that political parties in his territory were generally not well-informed and had little idea of how to go about running a political campaign. -------------- LACK OF CIVIC EDUCATION -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Similarly, potential voters lack information about the electoral process. The administrators of both Mahagi and Aru territories said there had been no civic education campaigns launched in their regions, although the public at least knew elections were going to take place. Members of civil society in Bunia and Mahagi said they themselves lacked the funds and transportation means needed to carry out any kind of civic education programs outside the larger towns. Local Electoral Commission officials likewise complained about insufficient funds to provide copies of the constitution and electoral law to interested citizens. MONUC, for its part though, has been very active in providing election materials to voters and political parties, and has held a series of training seminars for legislative candidates in Bunia, Aru, and Mahagi in the past few months. In addition, the MONUC Public Information Officer in Aru told PolOff that his office, in conjunction with UNDP, was about to launch a new program to assist local radio networks in their coverage of elections. ¶10. (SBU) The Administrator of Mahagi, Jean-Paul Likambo, said the population, however, does not particularly care about all the details surrounding the electoral process. Aside from knowing the actual date of the elections, Likambo said there is little else about which Iturians seemed interested. Instead, Likambo said people in Ituri care more about making money and finding enough food to feed their families than they do about the specifics of the electoral calendar. Moreover, Monsignor Leonard of Mahagi added that people are going to vote based on the character of the individual candidate, not the party or the party's ideology. As Aru's CEI coordinator July Angha said, voters just "want to send good people to Kinshasa to help the region." -------------- SECURITY FEARS AND POST-ELECTION SPOILERS -------------- ¶11. (C) Underpinning the strong desire by Iturians to head to the polls are equally strong fears about interference from Uganda, as well as the possibility of spoilers taking up arms after the elections. In nearly every meeting in Ituri -- whether with Church officials, CEI workers or local politicians -- the Congolese expressed their belief that Uganda would somehow attempt to disrupt elections, either by invading outright or encouraging local militias to attack the population. Civil society representatives in Mahagi told PolOff they believed arms had been hidden on the outskirts of the town in preparation for future militia attacks. While no one could provide concrete evidence of Ugandan activity, in Ituri the concern is palpable. MONUC officials throughout Ituri, however, said the motivation of Ituri militias remains largely economic, and they have seen no evidence that groups such as the Congolese Revolutionary Movement (MRC) are trying to disrupt the electoral process. -------------- COMMENT: NOT POLITICS AS NORMAL -------------- ¶12. (SBU) What is notable in Ituri is that the political discourse underway there is not characterized by the ethnic conflicts of the past. Political parties had been banned in Ituri so as not to inflame tensions between Hema and Lendu. Such a development signals a positive future for the development in Ituri of a political class -- one focused more on achieving results for the region as a whole and less on dividing it. And while insecurity remains an ever-present threat, Iturians themselves appear dedicated to participating fully in the July 30 elections. End comment. MEECE