US embassy cable - 05KINSHASA204

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000204 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINS, PREL, CG 
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENTARIANS AIM TO FINISH CONSTITUTION BY 
MARCH 14 
 
REF: KINSHASA 183 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY:  A working group of parliamentarians and 
government representatives agreed February 4 to a calendar 
that would have the Senate finish with the draft constitution 
by February 27 and the National Assembly adopt a final 
version by March 14.  On issues of substance, the group 
basically endorsed most points of the existing draft 
constitution.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) Senators, National Assembly members, one government 
minister, and assorted national and international experts and 
participated in the constitution subcommission of the 
February 2-4 "Inter-Institutional Seminar" in Kinshasa 
(reftel).  Charles Mwando Simba, chairman of the National 
Assembly's Political-Administrative-Juridical Committee, 
presided. Participants limited discussion to key issues 
identified by the Senate's Constitutional Committee, 
including:  the form of the state, type of political regime, 
name of the country, apportionment of provinces, age 
requirement for presidential candidates, and nationality. 
Mwando noted--and others repeated the point later on--that 
the subcommission's recommendations were merely that, and 
should not be considered definitive answers to these 
questions. 
 
Mid-March Goal to Finish the Constitution 
----------------------------------------- 
3. (U) With the concurrence of the Senate Rapporteur and the 
Vice President of the Senate Constitutional Committee, the 
group agreed to recommend that President Kabila call the 
Senate back from its current recess.  The subcommission 
recommended that the Senate Constitutional Committee should 
have until February 17 to adopt a draft constitution, then 
the full Senate should consider it from February 17-27, and 
the National Assembly should have it from February 27-March 
14. 
 
Unitary State 
------------- 
4. (SBU) Most participants opted for a unitary state, albeit 
a "strongly decentralized" one.  Moise Nyarugabo from the 
Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) was the only speaker who 
unabashedly favored a federal system.  Thomas Luhaka from the 
Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) "agreed with the 
majority" that it is too soon for a federal system, but 
emphasized the need for devolution of authority and resources 
to the provinces.  Information Minister Henri Mova Sakanyi 
(from President Kabila's party, the PPRD) argued that a 
federal system would be too costly and take a long time to 
implement, and said that--based on "public consultations" 
done by the Senate in recent months--the average Congolese 
prefers a unitary system anyway.  (Comment:  These 
consultations were very unscientific and their results 
questionable at best.  For example, it shows 100% of those 
polled in Maniema and North Kivu provinces as favoring a 
unitary state--a figure many residents would challenge.  End 
Comment.) 
 
Semi-Presidential Political System 
---------------------------------- 
5. (SBU) Most favored a semi-presidential system, with a 
directly-elected president with significant powers and a 
prime minister chosen from the majority party or coalition in 
parliament.  The RCD's Nyarugabo favored a purely 
parliamentary regime, but PPRD heavyweights such as Mova and 
others argued that the country needs a strong president to 
take it out of the ongoing crisis, and that a 
semi-presidential system was the "least bad option" that 
responds to concerns of a too-powerful presidency.  National 
Assembly 1st Vice President Philomene Omatuku (PPRD) declared 
that the Congolese were too ignorant for a parliamentary 
system to work, therefore a very strong presidential was 
best, "and under that people can learn to become democratic." 
 National Assembly 2nd Vice President Matadi Nenga (RCD) 
noted that "We're debating federal versus unitary, 
presidential versus parliamentary, but we don't even 
understand the definitions; if we did have a better 
understanding, the debate would be short." 
 
Two-Round Presidential Election 
------------------------------- 
6. (SBU) Most participants agreed that the president should 
be directly elected, with a second round of voting for the 
top two vote-getters if neither got more than fifty percent 
in the first round.  The one individual who spoke out against 
a two-round system was National Assembly member Jean-Paul 
Nkanga Boongo (PPRD), who expressed concern that it could 
lead to conflict if the first-round winner loses in the 
second round and then challenges the elections result. 
Nkanga also noted that having only one round would save 
money, and remarked bitterly that the GDRC had thus far 
promised a mere $2m out of a total estimated cost of $285m 
for elections.  (Comment:  Nkanga's views do not represent 
the views of President Kabila's entourage, which has argued 
strongly for a two-round system.  End Comment.) 
 
Is Kabila Too Young to be President? 
------------------------------------ 
7. (SBU) Almost all participants felt the constitution should 
set a minimum age to become president, but there was 
disagreement on the specifics.  Both the MLC and the RCD 
argued for 40 years with wording such as "or prior experience 
as head of state," that would allow Kabila to run for 
president (he is in his early 30s).  PPRD partisans favored 
having no age requirement at all or making it 25 years old, 
the age at which one could legally lead a political party. 
The "consensus" position in the official minutes pegged it at 
30.  (Comment:  It was apparent from the debate that Kabila 
opponents and potential opponents are not prepared to give 
him a pass on this issue.  End Comment.) 
 
Number of Provinces 
------------------- 
8. (U) There was general agreement that the DRC should keep 
its current number of eleven provinces as is for now, with 
the caveat that the new constitution should leave the matter 
open for possible changes in the future.  PPRD figures 
opposed the idea of breaking up existing provinces into 
smaller units, but most others spoke in favor of the idea. 
 
Special Status for the "Opposition Leader" 
------------------------------------------ 
9. (U) Participants agreed to the principle that the leader 
of 'opposition,' (e.g. the party or coalition that won the 
second-largest number of votes) should have special status, 
such as a government-furnished office and regular invitations 
to high-level policy discussions.  The group did not agree on 
specifics, however. 
 
No to Dual Nationality 
---------------------- 
10. (SBU) There was little debate on this issue, and the 
group agreed to stick to the language currently used in the 
transitional constitution (which does not permit dual 
nationality).  None in the group displayed any eagerness to 
revisit the nationality question, and in fact on separate 
occasions when discussing other subjects, both a Mai-Mai 
representative and Vice President Omatuku (PPRD) mentioned 
angrily that they had already compromised on the issue.  The 
Mai-Mai representative--who was eventually cut off by the 
chairman--gathered his papers together as if to walk out, but 
in the end remained in his seat.  (Note:  The Mai-Mai walked 
out during the National Assembly debate on nationality months 
earlier.  End Note.) 
 
No Change to Country's Name 
--------------------------- 
11. (U) Virtually no debate here, all save one speaker 
thought no change was necessary. 
 
A Nod to Women's Rights but No Quota 
------------------------------------ 
12. (U) Several female participants argued that the 
constitution should require 30% of all public offices be 
filled by women, but the motion did not carry.  The general 
consensus was that women's representation and gender issues 
should be addressed in the preamble, but not in the body of 
the constitution. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
13. (SBU) There were no real surprises during the debate. 
The group basically endorsed ideas already included in the 
latest, January 4 version of the draft constitution. 
Nonetheless, the work helped fulfil a seminar objective by 
helping to provide a public forum to debate key principles 
embodied in the constitution, and thus aid the process of 
informing the general public.  As well, the announcement of a 
firm calendar for the Senate to complete its work was good 
news, as the constitution has been languishing in the upper 
house for months, with little apparent progress.  Many 
observers in Kinshasa felt certain Senators were deliberately 
holding onto the issue because they saw it as a means of 
attracting attention and resources, not to mention the 
opportunity to travel abroad and within the DRC.  END COMMENT. 
MEECE