OPPOSITION PARTIES WALK OUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000047

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

KINSHASA ALSO FOR BRAZZAVILLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2116
TAGS: PGOV KDEM GB
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION PARTIES WALK OUT

REF: LIBREVILLE 0001

Classified By: Ambassador Barrie Walkley for reasons 1.4 b and d


1. (U) The National Assembly members were sworn-in January
24 and turned to the day's agenda: electing the President of
the National Assembly and also selecting members of the
"Bureau," the entity that controls the operation of the
Assembly. Guy Nzouba Ndama was, without controversy,
re-elected as President of the National Assembly. However,
when it came time to select the fourteen members who,
together with Ndama, would make up the Bureau, the opposition
party members accused the majority PDG party of acting
without transparency and complained of being sidelined.


2. (U) Essentially, the complaints focused on the fact that
in the last National Assembly the opposition parties had 5
seats in the Bureau (even though only 3 small opposition
parties were represented in the Assembly, the two major
opposition parties having boycotted the elections). This
time -- with five opposition parties represented in the
Assembly (including the two major opposition parties) and
despite the fact that this time the opposition has three
times the number of members it had in the last Assembly --
the opposition was being accorded only three seats in the
Bureau. Unable to secure an increase in the number of seats,
the opposition parties, en masse, walked out of the session.


3. (U) On January 25, the opposition parties held a press
conference and explained their unified position. UPG leader
Pierre Mamboundou called for a minimum of 5 seats for the
opposition, with a preference for 6. The opposition parties
promised that unless they get more seats, they will boycott
the Bureau throughout the five year mandate of the current
National Assembly. There is no indication, at least at this
point, that they plan to boycott the National Assembly itself.


4. (U) During the January 24 session there was no other
business but the swearing in, selection of the President and
of the Bureau. The National Assembly formally opens on March

1.


5. (C) COMMENT: Undoubtedly, this is a matter of principle
for the opposition parties -- they wish to be taken seriously
and see stronger representation in the Bureau as a means of
forwarding their agenda. It is also, however, a matter of
money: one of the Bureau seats taken away was that of the 3rd
Vice-President, a position significant in controlling the
Assembly's funds. The ruling PDG party won 83 of the 120
seats in the National Assembly; it is not surprising that the
PDG wishes to control the Bureau. We anticipate that there
will be some compromise reached before the Assembly meets
March 1 and expect the opposition to seek President Bongo's
help in resolving the issue.
WALKLEY