VZCZCXRO7644
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #1782/01 3281010
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241010Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5206
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 001782 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM CG ELECTIONS
SUBJECT: DRC ELECTIONS: SUPREME COURT BEHIND SCHEDULE IN 
RULING ON LEGISLATIVE CONTESTS 
 
REF: A. KINSHASA 1412 
     ¶B. KINSHASA 1714 
     ¶C. KINSHASA 1213 
     ¶D. KINSHASA 1777 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: The DRC's Supreme Court has fallen behind 
schedule in ruling on legal challenges to the results of the 
July 30 legislative elections. The DRC's electoral law 
stipulates the Court has two months to deliberate and rule on 
electoral complaints. As of November 18, however, the Court 
has issued judgments on only one-third of the cases brought 
before it. The Court has overturned seven legislative 
elections thus far and ordered re-votes in two districts 
because of significant voting irregularities. The delay in 
proceedings will have minimal impact on the functioning of 
the National Assembly, but raises serious questions about the 
Court's capabilities and jurisprudence. End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) A total of 348 complaints regarding the July 30 
legislative elections were brought before the Supreme Court 
during the legal challenge period from September 8-11. These 
challenges contested the provisional legislative election 
results announced by the Independent Electoral Commission 
(CEI) on September 7 (ref A). Two additional challenges were 
allowed to be submitted late due to "exceptional 
circumstances"; another eight were brought forward 
challenging Supreme Court decisions on previous legislative 
election cases. 
 
¶3. (U) According to the DRC's electoral law, the Court has 
two months to deliberate and rule on electoral challenges, a 
period which should have ended November 12. As of November 
18, however, the Court has issued judgments for National 
Assembly seats on only 125 of the 358 registered cases, or 
roughly one-third of all challenges. The Court issued a 
statement November 11 saying that because of its significant 
caseload, and the need to examine properly all cases, it was 
extending the time permitted by the electoral law to rule on 
the remaining challenges. The Court added that since the law 
carries no sanctions for not respecting the two-month time 
period, it was within its rights to extend its deliberations. 
 
------------------------- 
MOST CASES "INADMISSIBLE" 
------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The majority of cases -- 78 in total -- on which the 
Court has ruled have been thrown out on technical grounds. 
They were dismissed because they failed to meet any of three 
required conditions: the case was submitted by the proper 
authorities; was submitted within the prescribed time period; 
and was presented in the proper format. Jerome Wani, the 
Court's principal clerk, told us most cases were declared 
"inadmissible" because the wrong authority submitted the 
complaint. He explained that, according to the electoral law, 
candidates of political parties are not allowed to submit 
challenges on their own behalf. Instead, the complaints must 
be registered by the candidate's political party. 
 
¶5. (U) The Court ruled another 23 cases were groundless. Wani 
said most challenges in this category were dismissed because 
the claimants failed to provide proof of their allegations or 
did not precisely state their complaint. He added that many 
challengers simply demanded that "justice must be done," 
rather than asking for a specific legal remedy. 
 
-------------------------- 
SEVEN ELECTIONS OVERTURNED 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The outcomes of seven legislative elections have thus 
far been overturned by the Court. The most notable of these 
was the dismissal of RCD-N president Roger Lumbala, an ally 
of Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, from his seat in Eastern 
Kasai province (ref B). Two candidates from Bemba's Movement 
for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) party -- one from Western 
Kasai, the other from Equateur -- also had their elections 
invalidated, and candidates from opposing parties awarded the 
seats. One candidate from the pro-Kabila People's Party for 
Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) in Eastern Kasai was also 
replaced by an opposing candidate. The remaining cases 
involved rectifying vote counts, resulting in the replacement 
of candidates by members of their own parties. None of the 
electoral reversals will have any effect on the overall 
balance of power in the National Assembly. 
 
KINSHASA 00001782  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
-------------------- 
TWO RE-VOTES ORDERED 
-------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) To date, the Court has ordered re-votes in two 
electoral districts. In the Equateur district of Befale, the 
Court ruled that, in addition to other irregularities, the 
relocation of ten polling stations sufficiently disoriented 
voters. The Befale district, which has one seat in the 
Assembly, was won by an independent candidate. The Court 
decided as well that in the Western Kasai district of Mweka 
allegations of voter fraud and stuffed ballot boxes warranted 
a re-vote. Mweka, which has three seats in parliament, was 
the site of election-day violence July 30 resulting in the 
destruction and closure of several polling stations (ref C). 
The CEI has not yet set dates for the re-vote in these 
districts. Vacancies in these four seats will not impede the 
functioning of the National Assembly since it will not affect 
the number of deputies needed to maintain a quorum. 
 
--------------- 
WHY THE DELAYS? 
--------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Wani said the delays have largely been caused by the 
immense case load before the Court. He said most electoral 
challengers are demanding the Court physically recount the 
ballots in their respective districts before making any 
rulings. Wani claimed that the Court is acceding to these 
requests in an effort to maintain transparency in the 
process. He added that the Court itself has inadequate 
facilities and can only permit four audiences a day for 
hearings. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Wani also admitted that many of the Court's judges 
are "not motivated" to perform their duties expeditiously. He 
said the judges are not well-paid and thus have no incentive 
to finish their work on time. He said he believed that many 
of the judges do not fully understand the country's election 
laws and are therefore hesitant to make decisions. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Wani could not say how much longer the Court would 
need to finish hearing the remaining legislative cases, but 
anticipated it could be as long as another two months. The 
Court, which is currently involved in hearing Bemba's 
challenge to the October 29 presidential results, will 
further be delayed in ruling because of the November 21 fire 
which destroyed parts of the building and postponed further 
sessions (ref D). 
 
---------------------------- 
COMMENT: TROUBLING PRECEDENT 
---------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) The Court, charged with defending and upholding the 
DRC's election laws, has chosen to disregard one of the 
electoral law's provisions simply because there are "no 
sanctions" against doing so. Its delays in adjudicating 
electoral challenges will fortunately not impede the work or 
the installation of the National Assembly, whose members were 
seated based on provisional results. All this underlines the 
need to professionalize the DRC's judicial sector as an 
immediate post-Transition priority. End comment. 
MEECE