VZCZCXRO1203
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #1757/01 3201558
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 161558Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5177
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001757 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM CG ELECTIONS
SUBJECT: DRC ELECTIONS: THE NATIONWIDE STATISTICS 
 
¶1. (U) The DRC's Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) 
announced provisional presidential election results November 
15, giving President Kabila victory over Vice President 
Jean-Pierre Bemba by 58.05 to 41.95 percent. A total of 16.2 
million valid votes were cast, with a nationwide 
participation rate of slightly more than 65 percent. More 
than 2.6 million votes separated the two candidates. 
 
¶2. (U) Kabila dominated in the DRC's eastern provinces, as 
expected. He won 92 percent of the votes in the provinces of 
Katanga, Orientale, Maniema, and North and South Kivu, an 
increase of nearly 13 percent from the July 30 first round. 
He also won significant portions of the vote in key western 
regions. In Bandundu, the stronghold of his ally Antoine 
Gizenga, Kabila won 39 percent of the vote; in Kinshasa, 
where Gizenga is also popular, he won 32 percent. Kabila had 
won just three percent in Bandundu and 15 percent in Kinshasa 
in the last round. 
 
¶3. (U) Bemba was similarly dominant in western and central 
regions. He won slightly more than 78 percent of the combined 
vote in Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, and Kinshasa 
provinces. In the central Kasai provinces, he won nearly 73 
percent of the vote. 
 
¶4. (U) The average turnout rate of 65 percent is down almost 
six percent from the July 30 vote. Participation fell 
approximately ten percent in western provinces and nearly 
five percent in eastern provinces. Turnout increased nearly 
five percent in Eastern and Western Kasai provinces. 
 
¶5. (U) The following is a breakdown by province of 
participation rates and each candidate's percentages: 
 
-------- 
BANDUNDU 
-------- 
 
Bemba won Bandundu with nearly 61 percent; he had received 
ten percent July 30. While Kabila won just 39 percent, this 
is a 15-fold increase from the first round, when Gizenga 
carried the province with 80 percent. Turnout was 50.63 
percent, down approximately 18 percent from the first round 
and nearly 13 percent from the December 2005 constitutional 
referendum. 
 
--------- 
BAS-CONGO 
--------- 
 
Bemba won Bas-Congo by 74 to 26 percent. He won a plurality 
here July 30 with 36 percent, compared to 14 percent for 
Kabila. Participation was again much lower than the national 
average and fell the most of any province from July 30 
levels. Turnout was 51.59 percent, down more than 24 percent 
compared to the first round and more than 10 percent from the 
referendum. 
 
------------- 
EASTERN KASAI 
------------- 
 
Bemba took the central province of Eastern Kasai with more 
than 67 percent. Kabila's overall share dropped 3.5 percent 
compared to his first round total; he had won a plurality 
then with 36 percent. Participation increased by slightly 
more than three percent to 43 percent, helped primarily by 
significant increases of 30 and 25 percent, respectively, in 
Mbuji-Mayi and Miabi. In more than half the province's 
districts participation was down nearly 18 percent. 
 
-------- 
EQUATEUR 
-------- 
 
Bemba had his strongest showing in his home province of 
Equateur, where he outpolled Kabila 97 to three percent. He 
won this province in the last round with nearly 64 percent of 
the vote; Kabila won two percent. Equateur had the highest 
turnout rate of the DRC's eleven provinces with 84.45 
percent, an increase of ten percent. 
 
------- 
KATANGA 
------- 
 
Kabila won Katanga with 94 percent of the vote, an increase 
 
KINSHASA 00001757  002 OF 002 
 
 
of 16 percent from the first round. Bemba doubled his 
percentage in the province, but from only three percent to 
six percent. Turnout increased in Katanga to 75 percent, up 
four points from the first round. 
 
-------- 
KINSHASA 
-------- 
 
Bemba retained his majority in Kinshasa with 68 percent. Both 
candidates improved their scores compared to the July 30 
vote. Kabila went from just under 15 percent to 32 percent. 
In districts dominated by his ally Gizenga, Kabila won up to 
40 percent of the vote. Turnout decreased considerably, down 
to 58 percent from the July 30 rate of 70 percent. 
 
------- 
MANIEMA 
------- 
 
Kabila easily won Maniema with just over 98 percent. He had 
won the province in the first round with 90 percent. Bemba 
took less than two percent. Turnout was 80 percent, down 
nearly five percent from July 30 levels. 
 
---------- 
NORTH KIVU 
---------- 
 
Kabila also won in North Kivu with nearly 96 percent, up from 
his first round total of 78 percent. Bemba improved from less 
than one percent to 3.5 percent. Participation in the 
province was about 77 percent, down nearly four percent. 
 
--------- 
ORIENTALE 
--------- 
 
Kabila took the northeastern province of Orientale, but not 
by as wide a margin as other eastern regions. He won more 
than 79 percent here, up from his first-round total of 70 
percent. Bemba had received five percent in the first round, 
and increased this to 20 percent, carrying districts mostly 
in western areas near Equateur. Orientale was the only 
province where Kabila votes decreased in total number. 
Turnout was down 14 points to 64 percent. 
 
---------- 
SOUTH KIVU 
---------- 
 
Kabila captured his home province of South Kivu with more 
than 98 percent. He had won here with nearly 95 percent in 
the last round. Turnout decreased approximately six points to 
84 percent, still well above the national average. 
 
------------- 
WESTERN KASAI 
------------- 
 
Bemba won the central province of Western Kasai with nearly 
77 percent. He had won a plurality here in the last round 
with nearly 32 percent. Kabila, who took about 11 percent 
previously, increased his share to 23 percent. Turnout also 
went up in Western Kasai to more than 51 percent, an increase 
of more than six points from the first round. Participation 
was notably greater in western areas near Tshikapa, where 
there is a large base of support for Gizenga, and where 
Kabila realized some of his best scores in the province. 
MEECE