VZCZCXRO3102
PP RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR
DE RUEHKI #0963/01 1701012
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191012Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4145
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000963 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KPAO KDEM CG ELECTIONS
SUBJECT: UNIVERSITY STUDENTS SKEPTICAL ABOUT UPCOMING 
ELECTIONS 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Many Congolese university students, 
particularly in the capital, have little faith in the 
elections or the transparency of the electoral process. 
Many say they see scant benefit in voting in an election 
when the outcome is assumed to be already set.  Others say 
they have little incentive to vote or become involved in 
the political process, except to protest the lack of 
transparency.  Many feel powerless to bring about a new 
democracy, yet they welcome fora to speak openly about 
their concerns.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In April and May 2006, three PolOffs led 
discussions about the coming elections at four Congolese 
universities in Kinshasa and Kisangani.  The visits, 
arranged by the PD section, were intended to gain insight 
into students' opinions about the upcoming elections and 
to provide fora for Congolese students to express their 
views about the electoral process.  The discussions also 
provided PolOffs the opportunity to clarify aspects of the 
DRC's constitution and electoral law, which very few 
students have read, as well as to highlight USG assistance 
to the overall electoral process. 
 
To Vote or Not To Vote 
---------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Many students claimed they will not vote in the 
upcoming election because they feel that the results of 
the election had already been determined, at least at the 
presidential level.  They alleged that there is "support" 
from the international community for one particular 
candidate - namely, President Kabila.  They expressed 
doubt that the electoral system was free, fair or 
transparent, and they felt that those parties in power 
were disadvantaging or excluding other political parties. 
Students saw the credibility of the elections as tarnished 
by involvement of the international community, and cited 
recent Liberian elections as a negative example of 
international intervention in influencing results. 
 
Dissenting Views About the UDPS 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) There are opposing views in Kisangani and 
Kinshasa about Etienne Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy 
and Social Progress (UDPS).  Traditionally, UDPS support 
has been strongest in the Kasais and in Kinshasa.  Thus, 
at the University of Kisangani, there appeared to be 
little sympathy for either the party's positions, or for 
delaying the elections.  By contrast, in Kinshasa there 
was evidence of much support of the UDPS's position.  Many 
of the students pushed for the inclusion of the UDPS, 
either through reopening voter registration or through a 
new political "dialogue."  There were also militant 
sentiments expressed; one student at the University of 
Kinshasa (UniKin) stated that, if the UDPS were not 
included in elections, the "17,000 MONUC troops wouldn't 
be enough to keep the UDPS down." 
 
Freedom of Information, Security, and Free Speech 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Students decried a general lack of information 
about the candidates and poor media coverage.  (Note: The 
official campaign period does not begin until June 29. 
End note.)  Students were worried about insecurity and the 
threat posed by armed groups, particularly in the eastern 
part of the country, but also by private security forces 
of certain candidates.  One student at ISTA, a vocational 
school in Kinshasa, commented, "To speak and be heard in 
the DRC you need a gun."  Some students argued that unless 
the brassage, or integration, of the military was 
complete, the elections could not move forward.  There 
were fears about the potential of candidates' inability to 
accept defeat leading to violence after results are 
announced. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Students also voiced concern about the right for 
individuals to freely express their opinions about the 
current electoral race.  But when pressed on the issue, 
they said it was primarily President Kabila they did not 
feel free to criticize.  Most students felt that they 
could criticize parliamentary or provincial candidates 
without concern, but they believed that only the 
 
KINSHASA 00000963  002 OF 002 
 
 
presidential election was important. 
 
Concerns About the Voting and Election Processes 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Some students called for a formal census before 
elections.  Others voiced concern that the Independent 
Electoral Commission (CEI) had set the election date for 
July 30 without a "consultation" process.   Students 
questioned the right of any group to push the date of the 
elections beyond the Sun City deadline of June 30. 
However, most students seemed not to want to delay the 
elections any further at this point.  Some faulted the 
international community for not doing more to prepare the 
Congolese for elections and the post-electoral period. 
 
The Electoral Law 
----------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Many students felt that in drafting the electoral 
laws and the new constitution the international community 
had forced through certain provisions.  When asked, 
however, most students said they had not actually read the 
constitution or electoral laws and relied on what they had 
heard on the street or read in the newspapers. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment: These fora were all well attended and 
discussions were lively and often heated.  Students 
relished the chance to express their opinions in the 
presence of U.S. diplomats.  That university 
administrators facilitated frank exchanges showed the 
admittedly skeptical students that there is a growing 
commitment in the country to democratic give-and-take and 
transparency.  University students are of the Congolese 
generation that has known only Mobutu, war, and a 16-year 
"transition to democracy."  Their skepticism is not 
surprising, but makes them vulnerable to spoilers, 
especially the UDPS.  While we spoke with only a small 
number of students in a self-selecting audience more prone 
to express contrarian views, the groups were 
representative enough to demonstrate clearly that there is 
a critical lack of accurate election information available 
to Congolese voters.  End comment. 
Meece