BAS-CONGO UPDATE: DRC SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000200 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM CG ELECTIONS SUBJECT: BAS-CONGO UPDATE: DRC SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS ELECTION OF PRO-KABILA CANDIDATE IN GUBERNATORIAL RACE REF: A. KINSHASA 161 ¶B. KINSHASA 134 ¶1. (U) The DRC's Supreme Court ruled February 16 to uphold the election of Simon Mbatshi Batshia, an independent candidate allied with President Joseph Kabila, as governor of Bas-Congo province. The Court's ruling overturns a February 8 verdict by the Bas-Congo appellate court ordering a runoff election (ref A). The January 26 gubernatorial result had been challenged by Leonard Fuka Unzola of Jean-Pierre Bemba's Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) party after he lost by a 15-14 vote of provincial deputies. Batshia's victory gives the pro-Kabila Alliance for the Presidential Majority governorships of 10 of the DRC's 11 provinces. ¶2. (U) Fuka and the MLC had argued for a runoff election based on a technical definition of "absolute majority." The MLC's argued that the winning candidate in the 29-vote election had to receive 16 votes: 14.5 votes, rounded up to 15, plus one more. While the Bas-Congo appellate court upheld this argument, the Supreme Court rejected it, stating Congolese law is not clear on the issue of how an absolute majority must be calculated. ¶3. (U) Batshia's initial victory triggered violent protests in early February in several Bas-Congo cities, resulting in more than 100 dead (ref B). The separatist politico-religious group Bundu dia Kongo (BDK),whose leader was the defeated candidate for vice governor, claimed provincial deputies were bribed by the AMP to vote for Batshia. Bemba's Union for the Nation alliance has the majority in Bas-Congo's provincial assembly, and the province itself voted 3-to-1 in favor of Bemba in the October 29 presidential runoff election. There have been no reports of further unrest since the Court issued its ruling February 16. ¶4. (U) BDK spiritual leader Ne Muanda Nsemi said in press reports February 19 that he disagreed with the Court's decision. He called on President Kabila to intervene and order a runoff election. ¶5. (U) Batshia outlined his main governing priorities in a February 18 press conference in Kinshasa. He said his primary objectives as governor would be to assist an economic "revolution" in the mining sector and to create a viable middle class. He cautioned that mining exploitation cannot be the sole solution for the province, adding that agricultural production will be equally important for development. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: The Supreme Court's ruling may be legally correct but will please few in Bas-Congo. Most voters believe the gubernatorial election was fraudulent and that deputies' votes were bought. The Court's decision will further discourage voters who already believe the courts and the electoral system are biased in favor of Kabila and his allies. End comment. ¶7. (SBU) Biographic information: Batshia, 57, is a native of Bas-Congo with several economic interests and businesses in the province. He holds a 1972 degree in marketing from Lovanium University (later the University of Kinshasa). From 1973-1977, he was a professor at the Interdisciplinary Center for Development and Permanent Education, as well as Director General of the Belgian mining firm SOGEM. He was elected a people's commissar in 1977 representing a district in Bas-Congo. In 1982 he was named Secretary of National Economy and Industry, and later became SIPDIS Minister of Labor and Social Planning. He also served as the President of the Congo railroad parastatal SNCC in 1998 and as President of Congo's maritime cargo parastatal OGEFREM from 1991-1992. MEECE