KABILA ALLIES WIN LION'S SHARE OF WESTERN KASAI'S

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000096 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM CG ELECTIONS SUBJECT: KABILA ALLIES WIN LION'S SHARE OF WESTERN KASAI'S SENATE DELEGATION REF: KINSHASA 51 ¶1. (U) Candidates aligned with President Joseph Kabila's Alliance for the Presidential Majority (AMP) will make up most of the national Senate delegation from Western Kasai. AMP coalition candidates won at least five -- and possibly as many as seven -- of the province's eight Senate seats January 19, including three for the PPRD alone. Jean-Pierre Bemba's Union for the Nation (UfN) alliance won just one Senate seat in the assembly. ¶2. (U) The AMP coalition victory is a reversal of fortune for the pro-Kabila forces after they lost out to Bemba allies in contests for the provincial assembly's leadership positions a week earlier (reftel). In addition to the three PPRD seats, the vote among Western Kasai's 54 provincial deputies resulted in two for independent candidates, and one apiece for Bemba's MLC, Ruberwa's RCD, and the Democratic Socialist Party (PDS, aligned with the AMP). Both independents will likely join the AMP alliance. ¶3. (U) The Western Kasai assembly was evenly split between the AMP and UfN coalitions after October 29 election. A post-election alliance with the RCD gave the AMP coalition a slight numerical majority, although it failed to elect any AMP candidates to the assembly's top positions. ¶3. (U) Many of the new Senators are political newcomers, although there are some familiar names in the delegation. These include Bashilenge traditional chief Emery Kalamba Wafuana (independent, likely allied with the AMP),High Media Authority President Modeste Mutinga (also an independent, and likely aligned with the AMP),and the DRC's chief auditor Evariste Mabi Mulumba (PPRD). ¶4. (SBU) Biographical information: Gaston Nkole Tshimuanga (MLC) Nkole, 53, will represent Bemba's Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) in the national Senate. Born May 25, 1953. Jean Baptiste Iyolo La Ndjondo (PPRD) Iyolo, 68, will represent the pro-Kabila People's Party for Reconstruction and Development (PPRD). Born April 18, 1938. John Muyamba Ngove (PPRD) Muyama, 35, is the second-youngest member elected to the Senate and will serve as one of the two secretaries in the chamber's provisional leadership office. Born January 1, 1972. Muendu Mbueshi Kuongo (RCD) Mbueshi, 77, will be the Senate's oldest member. He will serve as president of the Senate's provisional leadership office until a permanent secretariat is elected. A former primary school teacher and regional education inspector in Western Kasai, he later entered politics and was elected to the Mobutu-era parliament from Western Kasai, serving from 1977-1981. He participated in committees focused on finance and the environment. Born December 29, 1929. Emery Kalamba Wafuana (independent, likely allied with Kabila/AMP) Kalamba, 54, became traditional chief of the Bashilenge clan in February 2002, and served in the Transitional Senate. A lawyer specializing in mining law, he holds a masters in international affairs from Georgetown University. He has been a member of several organizations advocating the interests of traditional societies, serving as President of the Grand Kasai Forum and Vice President of the National Alliance of Traditional Authorities of Congo. Born January 12, 1953. Modeste Mutinga (independent, likely aligned with Kabila/AMP) Mutinga, 60, is the president of the High Media Authority (HAM),one of the Transitional Government's five institutions. He holds a degree in political science from the Free University in Kinshasa. A career journalist and author, he has edited several media publications, including "Le Potentiel," a Kinshasa daily newspaper. He founded the Union of Journalists and Communications Agents, the first KINSHASA 00000096 002 OF 002 journalists' union in the Congo. He later became Vice President of the Union of Congolese Press. He participated in the Inter-Congolese Dialogue in South Africa as a member of the civil society delegation. Born January 1, 1947. Patrice-Aime Sesanga Dja Kasiw (PDS, allied with Kabila/AMP) Sesanga, 63, is a longtime activist in Kasaian politics and was a member of the Transitional National Assembly. He held positions in the Kasaian Ministry of Agriculture in 1963, as well as the Ministry of National Education and Agriculture in 1964-1965. From 1968-1973 he served as a Vice President with the mining parastatal Gecamines. He was named to the national legislature in 1980 and subsequently appointed as a member of the Movement for Popular Revolution's central committee. He participated in the Sovereign National Conference and was named Minister of Social Affairs in 1993. Founder of the Group of Moderate Opposition (ROM) political platform, he went on to serve as President of the Democratic Socialist Party and co-signed the Sun City Accords. He is the father of former Bemba chief of staff and Minister of Plan Delly Sesanga. Born July 15, 1943. Evariste Mabi Mulumba (PPRD) Mabi, 65, has been the DRC's chief government auditor since ¶1988. He holds a degree in economics and a doctorate in business administration from the University of Liege in Belgium. He served as adviser to the Governor of Kinshasa from 1967-1968 and became deputy director of the Institute for Economic and Social Research in 1973. A member of the Movement for Popular Revolution's central committee from 1980-1990, he was Minister of Finance in 1986 and Prime Minister under Mobutu from 1987-1988. Born April 22, 1941. MEECE