This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000788 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KPKO CG UG ELECTIONS
SUBJECT: ELECTIONS: ITURI POLITICS NOT YET IN FULL BLOOM 
 
 
Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In contrast to the open displays of 
political showmanship elsewhere in the DRC, Ituri District 
has yet to see much public electoral campaigning within its 
borders. Political parties freely operate in the region, but 
the practice of politics remains largely out of public view, 
as political parties were outlawed for several years in 
Ituri, and their activities are just now becoming more 
accepted. Nevertheless, Congolese throughout Ituri eagerly 
await the July 30 presidential and legislative elections and 
regard the opportunity to vote as a chance to resolve 
persistent security and economic concerns. End summary. 
 
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ITURI: SEPARATE AND APART 
------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) During a visit to Ituri District May 6-10, PolOff met 
with a variety of political and civil society 
representatives, religious leaders, MONUC staff, and 
government officials in an effort to assess preparations for 
the upcoming July 30 presidential and legislative elections. 
Those PolOff spoke to in the principal towns of Bunia, Mahagi 
and Aru all generally agreed that the population would 
participate in large numbers during elections. What many 
bemoaned, however, was the lack of understanding -- both 
among voters and political parties -- regarding practical 
matters surrounding the electoral process, such as how to 
vote, what the DRC's constitution and electoral law 
guaranteed as the rights of all citizens, and the general 
guidelines of political campaigns. 
 
¶3. (U) Part of the reason for the political vacuum in Ituri 
stems from the district's unique historical, ethnic and 
security problems, in addition to the system of rule 
established there after the war. Ituri has long been a region 
beset by ethnic strife, often between indigenous Hema and 
Lendu tribes that fought for control of land and resources. 
These conflicts had little if anything to do with the larger 
security concerns plaguing the DRC, notably in terms of the 
infiltration of foreign armed groups. Starting in 1998, 
though, existing tensions were exacerbated when Ugandan 
actors manipulated the local population and created proxy 
militias to battle for control of resources such as gold and 
timber. The Ituri militias fighting today against the 
Congolese army are a result of these influences. Ituri has 
also been more politically isolated from the rest of the DRC 
as a result of its geography. Bordering Lake Albert and 
Uganda, local commerce has been more traditionally oriented 
towards the East (Uganda) rather than the South (the Kivus) 
or the West (Kisangani, and ultimately, Kinshasa). 
Consequently, Iturians felt less a part of the DRC and more 
as an independently-operating entity. 
 
¶4. (SBU) This mindset was recognized when, after the war 
ended in 2003, the central government in Kinshasa established 
a quasi-independent interim administration to govern Ituri. 
Effectively, Ituri became an area separate and apart from the 
rest of the country's governing structure. In addition, 
because of the ethnic strife in Ituri, political activities 
were forbidden and political parties were not allowed to 
operate. Political life, then, was dormant in Ituri until 
2005, when the ban was lifted. As a result, political 
activity is still viewed with some suspicion by the local 
population, and outward displays of political activity remain 
rare. 
 
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"WE'RE JUST WAKING UP" 
---------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Several details from PolOff's recent visit to Ituri 
illustrate this point. First, the Ituri District 
Commissioner, Petronille Vaweka, while a well-known and 
popular figure in Bunia, is not officially a member of any 
political party. (Note: While Vaweka is technically 
independent, she is nonetheless an ally of the People's Party 
for Reconstruction and Development, PPRD, and has sought 
political counsel from party leaders during visits to 
Kinshasa. End note.) Second, despite being welcomed by large 
and boisterous crowds during his visits to North and South 
Kivu provinces, PPRD Secretary General Vital Kamerhe's visit 
to Bunia in early May was largely kept a secret. While MONUC 
officials were aware of Kamerhe's trip, the local Independent 
Electoral Commission (CEI) coordinator and a representative 
of Bunia's Civil Society told PolOff they were completely 
unaware Kamerhe had been in Bunia. Finally, perhaps the most 
telling bit of evidence about the lack of political activity 
in Ituri was the absence of party flags throughout the 
District. Unlike along the roads in North Kivu, where each 
village sported at least a few party flags, PolOff saw only a 
handful of flags in all of Ituri -- and the majority of those 
flew from local party offices. The dearth of flags -- an 
indicator of political activity throughout the DRC -- would 
suggest that citizen involvement in political activities is 
not yet in full bloom in Ituri. 
 
¶6. (C) Iturians are just now becoming engaged in the 
approaching electoral scrum. The DRC's major political 
parties all have set up offices in Ituri's major towns, and 
there is a growing understanding among potential voters about 
what elections mean and why it is important to vote. However, 
political parties generally lack sufficient financing to 
conduct electoral campaigns, and few voters have seen copies 
of the country's constitution or electoral law. The Bishop of 
Bunia, Monsignor Dieudonne Ulingi, said this lack of 
information leaves voters susceptible to manipulation by 
outside forces or more sophisticated political parties. 
Emmanuel Ngabu, a member of Bunia civil society and a teacher 
at the local university, underlined this vulnerability when 
he told PolOff, "We're just waking up." 
 
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PPRD THE EARLY FRONT-RUNNER 
--------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Nearly all officials PolOff spoke to from Bunia to 
Aru agreed that the PPRD was the best-implanted and 
best-prepared political party in Ituri. The District has been 
increasingly garnering the attention of party officials, most 
notably with the visit (albeit unpublicized) of the PPRD 
Secretary General. The Vice Governor of Orientale province, 
 
SIPDIS 
also a PPRD member, visited Aru and Mahagi during PolOff's 
trip as well. Monsignor Ulingi of Bunia explained the PPRD's 
appeal among the population was based on hopes for peace and 
security. Ulingi said people approved the constitution during 
the December referendum because they believed a vote for the 
constitution was a vote for President Kabila. Ulingi also 
said Iturians view Kabila as having improved security in 
Ituri through his support of MONUC. Therefore, per the 
Bishop, a vote for Kabila is a vote for security. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Other parties currently with a presence in Ituri, 
although generally minimal, include Vice President Bemba's 
Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC), Vice President Ruberwa's 
Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD), and Mbusa Nyamwisi's 
Rally for Congolese Democracy-Kisangani/Liberation Movement 
(RCD-K/ML). However, as many in Ituri explained, these 
parties -- including the PPRD -- lack well-developed 
political platforms or ideas to attract voters. The assistant 
Bishop of Mahagi, Monsignor Leonard, said that political 
parties in his territory were generally not well-informed and 
had little idea of how to go about running a political 
campaign. 
 
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LACK OF CIVIC EDUCATION 
----------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Similarly, potential voters lack information about 
the electoral process. The administrators of both Mahagi and 
Aru territories said there had been no civic education 
campaigns launched in their regions, although the public at 
least knew elections were going to take place. Members of 
civil society in Bunia and Mahagi said they themselves lacked 
the funds and transportation means needed to carry out any 
kind of civic education programs outside the larger towns. 
Local Electoral Commission officials likewise complained 
about insufficient funds to provide copies of the 
constitution and electoral law to interested citizens. MONUC, 
for its part though, has been very active in providing 
election materials to voters and political parties, and has 
held a series of training seminars for legislative candidates 
in Bunia, Aru, and Mahagi in the past few months. In 
addition, the MONUC Public Information Officer in Aru told 
PolOff that his office, in conjunction with UNDP, was about 
to launch a new program to assist local radio networks in 
their coverage of elections. 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Administrator of Mahagi, Jean-Paul Likambo, 
said the population, however, does not particularly care 
about all the details surrounding the electoral process. 
Aside from knowing the actual date of the elections, Likambo 
said there is little else about which Iturians seemed 
interested. Instead, Likambo said people in Ituri care more 
about making money and finding enough food to feed their 
families than they do about the specifics of the electoral 
calendar. Moreover, Monsignor Leonard of Mahagi added that 
people are going to vote based on the character of the 
individual candidate, not the party or the party's ideology. 
As Aru's CEI coordinator July Angha said, voters just "want 
to send good people to Kinshasa to help the region." 
 
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SECURITY FEARS AND POST-ELECTION SPOILERS 
----------------------------------------- 
¶11. (C) Underpinning the strong desire by Iturians to head to 
the polls are equally strong fears about interference from 
Uganda, as well as the possibility of spoilers taking up arms 
after the elections. In nearly every meeting in Ituri -- 
whether with Church officials, CEI workers or local 
politicians -- the Congolese expressed their belief that 
Uganda would somehow attempt to disrupt elections, either by 
invading outright or encouraging local militias to attack the 
population. Civil society representatives in Mahagi told 
PolOff they believed arms had been hidden on the outskirts of 
the town in preparation for future militia attacks. While no 
one could provide concrete evidence of Ugandan activity, in 
Ituri the concern is palpable. MONUC officials throughout 
Ituri, however, said the motivation of Ituri militias remains 
largely economic, and they have seen no evidence that groups 
such as the Congolese Revolutionary Movement (MRC) are trying 
to disrupt the electoral process. 
 
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COMMENT: NOT POLITICS AS NORMAL 
------------------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) What is notable in Ituri is that the political 
discourse underway there is not characterized by the ethnic 
conflicts of the past. Political parties had been banned in 
Ituri so as not to inflame tensions between Hema and Lendu. 
Such a development signals a positive future for the 
development in Ituri of a political class -- one focused more 
on achieving results for the region as a whole and less on 
dividing it. And while insecurity remains an ever-present 
threat, Iturians themselves appear dedicated to participating 
fully in the July 30 elections. End comment. 
MEECE