AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH OPPOSITION DELEGATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000228 SIPDIS SIPDIS LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS KINSHASA PASS BRAZZAVILLE E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2016 TAGS: PGOV GB SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH OPPOSITION DELEGATION REF: A. 05 LIBREVILLE 0991 ¶B. LIBREVILLE 0186 Classified By: POLITICAL OFFICER GLENN FEDZER FOR REASON 1.4 (B) ¶1. (C) The Ambassador met six opposition leaders at the Residence April 4 to discuss their grievances against the GoG. The delegation included Zacharie Myboto, Gabonese Union for Democracy and Development (UGDD),Jules Aristide Bourdes Ogoulinguende, Congress for Democracy and Justice (CDJ),Dr. Leon Mbou Yembi, African Forum for Reconstruction (FAR), Mouanga Mbadinga, Movement for the Socialist Emancipation of the People (MESP),Jean Manuel Malolas, Republican Union for Democracy and Progress (URDP),and Gilles Andzang Mefane, Gabonese Socialist Party (PSG). The six leaders have also arranged meetings with the EU ambassadors (as a group) and the Canadian and South African ambassadors. The opposition politicians are asking that the diplomatic missions assist them in securing a group meeting with President Bongo. ¶2. (C) During the two-hour meeting on April 4, the group reiterated long-standing opposition claims that "structural flaws" in the electoral system give the government a preponderant and unfair advantage during elections. According to them, the flaws include: --Inflated and inaccurate electoral rolls. They claim this allows Bongo partisans to vote more than once by making the rounds of different polling stations. To illustrate their point, the opposition presented the Ambassador three voting cards carrying the same name, occupation and birthdate, -- but each with a different precinct. The opposition seek to scrap the current rolls and start from scratch. --Separate color-coded ballots for each candidate. According to the opposition, this facilitates ballot-box stuffing and limits ballot secrecy; they seek a single ballot. --The refusal to provide official copies of individual polling station results to the opposition. The absence of a "parallel vote count" limits their challenging the final totals announced by the Ministry of the Interior. ¶3. (C) In addition, the opposition members complained about what they see to be the unfettered use of state assets for the ruling party's campaign, the bias of the government-controlled media, and legal barriers that prevent opposition parties from holding political events. (Comment: Embassy's observation of the November 2005 Presidential elections (Ref A),suggests these complaints may have merit. End comment.) Myboto says, however, that there is sufficient time before legislative elections scheduled for December 2006 to resolve these matters if Bongo and the ruling PDG can be convinced to institute reforms. ¶4. (U) The opposition leaders asserted that these issues have been raised repeatedly during the years since Gabon became a multiparty democracy, including in the months before the presidential election in November 2005 (Ref A). The opposition leaders allege that before the election, Bongo gave his "word of honor" to discuss the issues, and that the government committed to addressing them after the presidential election. The opposition has for the past several weeks been requesting a group meeting of all political parties with President Bongo; the government in response has offered instead to arrange meetings for individual party leaders with the president, one at a time. The opposition parties have refused such meetings, feeling they will be more of a force as a group. The party leaders asked the Ambassador to intervene with Bongo to help arrange a group meeting. ¶5. (C) Noticeably absent from the April 4 meeting was a representative of the Union of Gabonese People (UPG),whose president, Pierre Mamboundou, remains in refuge in the South African Embassy (Ref B). A UGDD party activist said Mamboundou, while supportive of the other leaders in principle, asserts he is "the rightful President of Gabon" and thus cannot participate in joint actions with "opposition" leaders. Also missing was Gabonese Progressive Party (PGP) President, and Port Gentil mayor, Seraphim Ndaot. Ndaot, a wealthy entrepreneur and popular mayor, was elevated to the party presidency on the death in 2005 of his predecessor, long-time opposition figure Pierre Louie Agondjo Okawe. Ndaot has studiously avoided national politics so far, focusing his attention instead on his duties in Port Gentil. ¶6. (C) Comment. Ordinary citizens and union leaders are increasingly asserting that the current cadre of Gabonese politicians, including the opposition members at the April 4 meeting, are "not living in the same world" with them and are out of touch with the populace. The French-educated opposition leaders are of the same generation, have similar backgrounds, and frequently share family relations with their opponents in the ruling party of President Bongo. We suspect that, even with a relatively level playing field, Bongo has the resources and political skills to outmaneuver this current group of opponents (one reason the parties are seeking a group meeting rather than separate meetings). The Embassy will, of course, continue to work with all Gabonese to promote democratic change. A level playing field may not help the current opposition, but is essential if Gabon is going to transition peacefully into the post-Bongo era. WALKLEY