MLC LAUNCHES NEW POLITICAL ALLIANCE

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000969 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM CG ELECTIONS SUBJECT: MLC LAUNCHES NEW POLITICAL ALLIANCE REF: KINSHASA 174 ¶1. (U) The Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC),the political party of Vice President (and presidential candidate) Jean-Pierre Bemba, has entered into a new political alliance with a host of smaller Congolese political parties. MLC Secretary General (and Minister of Budget) Francois Mwamba announced June 17 in Kinshasa the launch of the Assembly of Congolese Nationalists (RENACO),which brings together the MLC and 23 other parties into a nationwide alliance. Bemba had announced the formation of RENACO when he accepted the MLC's presidential nomination January 29 (reftel); Mwamba will serve as RENCO's coordinator. ¶2. (U) Mwamba reportedly said at RENACO's June 17 unveiling that the coalition's members were driven by one main goal: the creation of an independent country with popular leadership. Mwamba reportedly said good governance would be the hallmark of RENACO, claiming that "bad governance" has been the source of the DRC's conflicts and lack of national unity. According to news reports, Mwamba also claimed that RENACO's candidates understand the necessity of ensuring that democracy is the only way by which the Congolese must choose their leaders and transform the country. ¶3. (SBU) Included in the MLC's new umbrella organization are two other presidential candidates, Jonas Mukamba of the Alliance of Congolese Democrats (ADECO) and Christophe Mboso of the Convention for the Republic and Democracy (CRD). Mwamba reportedly did not specify which candidate would represent RENACO in the first round of presidential voting, but rather said such discussions will take place at the appropriate time. (Comment: There is no doubt, however, that Bemba will lead the alliance. End comment.) Among some of the parties in RENACO's ranks are the Christian Convention for Democracy (CCD),the Movement for Democracy and Development (MDD),the Democratic Rally for the Republic (RDR),and Republican Generations (GR). The alliance field approximately 800 candidates nationwide for the National Assembly. ¶4. (U) According to local news reports, several representatives of the Congolese political opposition parties also attended the RENACO events, though they are not members of the alliance. Among the most notable was Gaston Dyndo of Etienne Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS). ¶5. (SBU) Comment: Bemba has been saying for months that he would be announcing a coalition of up to 50 parties. None of the 23 other parties he has brought together in the RENACO alliance have any significant level of popular support, however. Rumors of an MLC-UDPS alliance have been circulating for some time. While Bemba and Tshisekedi would indeed make strange bedfellows, desperation might well bring them together. End comment. MEECE