WESTERN KASAI GOVERNOR LOSES NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000642

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KPKO CG
SUBJECT: WESTERN KASAI GOVERNOR LOSES NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE

REF: KINSHASA 130


1. (SBU) Summary: Western Kasai's provincial assembly passed
a no-confidence motion against AMP-aligned Governor Tresor
Kapuku June 7 by a 29-24 vote, even though the AMP holds a
slim majority. According to the DRC's constitution and
electoral law, Kapuku must now resign and the Independent
Electoral Commission (CEI) must organize a new gubernatorial
election in 15 days. The no-confidence measure followed
months of tense relations between the governor and the
assembly. AMP-aligned deputies claim the vote did not follow
correct procedures, and Kapuku himself has contested the
result in court. End summary.


2. (U) Western Kasai's provincial assembly voted June 7 29-24
to adopt a motion of no-confidence against Governor Tresor
Kapuku, a member of the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD)
party aligned in Western Kasai province with the pro-Kabila
Alliance for the Presidential Majority (AMP). The result
surprised many as the AMP holds a slim majority in the
assembly with 28 of 54 seats, including eight deputies from
the RCD. According to the DRC's constitution and electoral
law, Kapuku must resign his position, and the CEI is required
to organize a new gubernatorial election within 15 days. Vice
Governor Hubert Mbingho, a former mayor of the diamond town
of Tshikapa, will assume the governor's functions until the
election.


3. (U) Fifteen opposition deputies brought the no-confidence
measure to the assembly June 4, claiming Kapuku had committed
numerous "flagrant acts of contempt" against the assembly and
violated several important elements of the constitution.
Among Kapuku's alleged misdeeds, the group cited his failure
to acknowledge the assembly during his official handover
ceremony with the outgoing governor; his refusal to meet with
the assembly's executive officers on at least one occasion;
his "unilateral elaboration" of the provincial budget before
the Ministry of Interior without consulting the assembly; and
the expulsion of the assembly's president from a state-owned
building he had claimed as his official residence.


4. (SBU) A group of 27 AMP-aligned provincial deputies issued
a statement June 7 contesting the vote. They argued the
motion was not properly submitted for consideration and
should therefore be declared invalid. In addition, they
claimed deputies were impeded from marking their ballots
clearly because the vote was held in near-darkness. (Note: As
balloting began, the power went out in the assembly's
chamber, forcing deputies to vote by candlelight or by the
light of their cell phone displays. End note.) They also
noted that Kapuku did not have an opportunity to defend
himself before the assembly in advance of the vote, even
though the assembly's executive office had invited him to do
so. (Note: Kapuku, along with all other provincial governors,
had been in Kinshasa until the morning of June 7 at the
request of the Interior Ministry to discuss the budget and
decentralization. End note.)


5. (SBU) Kapuku filed a motion June 9 with the Kananga court
of appeals seeking the vote's annulment. Kapuku himself told
PolOff June 6, the day before the vote, that he did not
believe the motion would pass. He claimed the effort was
driven in large part by a disagreement with provincial
assembly president Homer Mijimbu, who claims that a
particular state-owned building was to serve as his official
residence. Although the former non-elected governor had
designated the building for Mijimbu, Kapuku rejected the
claim, expelled the president from the property, and later
installed one of his provincial ministers at the site.


6. (SBU) Although the CEI is charged with organizing a new
gubernatorial election in 15 days, Commission officials claim
they lack the means to do so in the prescribed time. CEI
spokesman Dieudonne Mirimo told us that in any case the
Commission will have to wait for any court rulings before
proceeding. Kapuku is allowed to run again for governor if he
chooses.


7. (U) Kapuku's initial election as governor was marked by
controversy. In a move to discredit his main opponent, Alex
Kande of Jean-Pierre Bemba's MLC, Kapuku filed a motion with
the court to disqualify Kande on the grounds that he held
dual nationality, and therefore was ineligible to run
(reftel). The gubernatorial election was delayed, but
Kapuku's gambit failed, and Kande stayed in the race. Kapuku
ultimately won in a 28-26 vote by the provincial assembly in

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February.


8. (SBU) Comment: The no-confidence motion is part of a
larger battle underway in many provinces between provincial
assemblies and their governors. Each side, particularly the
newly-created assemblies, is trying to define its position
and power over the other based on differing interpretations
of the constitution, resulting in a political struggle marked
by boycotts and no-confidence votes rather than dialogue and
accommodation. The vote also highlights the increasing
fragility of the AMP coalition. In particular, with its
critical eight-person caucus, the RCD is particularly
important in the Western Kasai assembly. Having been frozen
out of Kinshasa government positions, and with RCD national
President Azarias Ruberwa having subsequently declared
himself allied with the opposition, it is doubtful that the
RCD could be counted upon as a reliable component of the AMP
coalition. End comment.
MEECE