Kabila allies cruise to victory
2007-01-29 21:11
Kinshasa - Congolese President Joseph Kabila's allies won a crushing victory in provincial governor elections, results showed on Sunday, sparking opposition accusations that provincial assembly votes had been bought.
Kabila's coalition, the Alliance of the Presidential Majority (AMP), won six of nine governorships up for grabs in Saturday's vote by provincial assemblies elected in landmark elections last year, said the electoral commission.
Two more governorships went to independent candidates.
Under DRC's new constitution adopted under a peace process to end years of conflict, 40% of state revenues will stay in the province of origin, up from 5%-10% percent, making governors powerful especially in mining areas.
The Union of the Nation (UN) of Jean-Pierre Bemba, Kabila's rival in an October presidential run-off, took his home province Equateur, but lost in the capital Kinshasa and Bas-Congo where he also enjoys popular support.
"Something shady happened which had nothing to do with ideology. A lot of money was being circulated," Moise Musangana, a spokesperson for Bemba, said late on Sunday.
"This was the assassination of democracy."
Kabila's AMP said it was against cheating.
"If it is true, it is totally unacceptable. I think this is just a lack of cohesion of the UN. We are totally opposed to corruption," said AMP spokesperson Olivier Kamitatu.
"I think they are totally disappointed. I think these allegations are just a result of that disappointment," he said.
Breakdown of loyalty
In some provinces UN candidates got fewer votes than the party has assembly members, indicating a breakdown of party loyalty in voting.
Bemba attacked Kabila in a televised address last week following a poor UN performance in senate elections. He accused the president of 'buying consciences' and threatened to call street protests and strikes.
Last week two UN candidates in the provinces of East and West Kasai were disqualified from Saturday's election after the electoral commission ruled them ineligible because they held dual nationality. Voting there was rescheduled for February 10.
Kabila allies have used their majority in the national assembly, the lower house of parliament, to control key committees and win all leadership posts.
Analysts warn excluding Bemba's opposition from the political process may reverse democratic gains and cause unrest in a country still recovering from a 1998-2003 war that killed an estimated four million people, mainly from hunger and disease.
"In order to be healthy and flourishing, democracy needs a true political opposition where each and everyone can freely express himself without fear of being intimidated," new UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said in a speech to DRC's newly elected national assembly during a visit at the weekend.
During last year's elections, the first democratic polls in over 40 years, Bemba loyalists and Kabila's soldiers twice fought battles in the heart of the capital, killing dozens.