A PROFILE OF THE DEOMCRATIC PROGRESSIVE PARTY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000699 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR AF/S KAMANA MATHUR STATE FOR INR/AA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM KCOR MI SUBJECT: A PROFILE OF THE DEOMCRATIC PROGRESSIVE PARTY (DPP) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: President Bingu wa Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is currently the largest party in the National Assembly with 77 MPs. The party, just over a year old, faces both legal and organizational challenges as it strives to make itself into a lasting party. The main challenge facing the party in Parliament is the legality of MPs "crossing the floor" to join the DPP. Outside Parliament President Mutharika's main challenge is the creation of a political base for his party. End Summary. BEGINNINGS -------------- ¶2. (U) Like all political parties in Malawi the party is centered on one individual, in this case President Mutharika. The DPP was formally registered on March 15, ¶2005. This followed President Bingu wa Mutharika's resignation from the United Democratic Front (UDF) on February 5, 2005. Mutharika accused senior UDF leaders of corruption and said that he could no longer be affiliated with the party. The original members of the party were politicians who followed Mutharika out of the UDF and Gwanda Chakuamba's Republican Party. Originally it was understood that Mutharika would be a figure-head leader of the party while Chakuamba would be the actual leader. Chakuamba, who was included in the cabinet in early 2005, was later dropped from cabinet and subsequently left the party. IN PARLIAMENT -------------- ¶3. (U) In the National Assembly 77 MPs are now affiliated with the DPP. Only six of the 77 were elected on DPP tickets in the December 2005 special elections. Fifteen of them are former members of the UDF, while eleven are former members of the now defunct Republican Party. These two groups were later joined by 28 independent MPs. The rest are former members of the MCP, the defunct Movement for Genuine Democracy (MGODE) and the defunct National Democratic Alliance (NDA). ¶4. (U) The main challenge facing the DPP in Parliament is the legality of the move of most of its members from other parties. Section 65 of the Malawi Constitution necessitates the resignation of an MP who moves from one political party to another. However, the section does not apply to independents who join a party, nor to a party member who becomes independent. Therefore only the seats of the 28 independents and 6 official DPP members are secure. However, President Mutharika has appealed the constitutionality of this clause, and the overburdened Malawian court system has yet to rule on the case. BUILDING THE BASE -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Outside Parliament President Mutharika's main challenge is to create a political base for his party. So far the party has established itself in the southern region by taking on board former members of the UDF, which had been the dominant party in the region since ¶1994. The DPP also has strong support in the northern region where it has done well in filling the political vacuum left by fading of the once dominant Alliance for Democracy party. The party's sweep of the six special elections in December 2005 (three in the north and three in the south) were a big boost to the DPP membership's morale. However, as there has been no special election in the central region the party remains untested in central Malawi. ¶6. (SBU) The party's support in the north peaked around the December 2005 special elections. President Mutharika presided over a ceremony launching the long postponed construction a road between the northern districts of Chitipa and Karonga. However, Mutharika's promise that construction would commence immediately was not fulfilled. This, combined with Mutharika's failure to attend the funeral of a prominent northern politician and a perceived lack of financial support for the north have winnowed away the allegiance of many in the region. One LILONGWE 00000699 002 OF 002 Deputy Minister from the North told Embassy officials that northerners are beginning to question their support for the DPP and Mutharika, and are becoming more skeptical of the ability of his administration to fulfill its promises. ¶7. (SBU) Like other major political parties in Malawi, the DPP's leadership is not very transparent, and members are expected to faithfully follow the head of the organization. What Mutharika does and says is a mystery to most of his party's members -- just as other major party leaders' actions are a mystery in their respective members. Three young Deputy Ministers we spoke with recently provided insights into the workings of the DPP, but they were largely ignorant about the workings of the President and his inner circle - if he has one. COMMENT: -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The DPP has risen to prominence in Malawi on the back of Mutharika's administration. Mutharika, who enjoys fairly widespread support among average Malawians, should be a viable candidate for re-election in 2009. The DPP's ability to contest nationally at the member of parliament level, however, is more of a question-mark. Without having gone through the challenge of a national election, it remains to be seen how organized the DPP will be for ¶2009. With the UDF and MCP both hoping to do well in 2009, it will be a significant challenge for the DPP to gain an outright majority in parliament (which they currently do not enjoy) in the next elections. What is more likely is for the DPP to take the smaller north and split the South with the UDF, while the MCP will hold on to most of the seats in the central region. Key DPP Leaders ¶8. (SBU) President Mutharika, President of the DPP - Mutharika formed DPP after breaking with the UDF, which is still led by former president Bakili Muluzi. He is a technocrat who has been praised for restoring donor confidence in Malawi after Muluzi's reign. However, Mutharika has proved to be a poor politician, and often seems to make decisions based upon poor information and bad counsel. ¶9. (SBU) Uladi Mussa, Minister of Agriculture, DPP First Vice President, MP for Salima South (Central Region) - While he is a below average Cabinet Minister and MP, Mussa is an excellent speaker in Chichewa at political rallies. ¶10. (SBU) Goodall Gondwe, Minister of Finance, MP for Mzimba North (Northern Region) - Gondwe is more of a technocrat than a politician. He is a capable Finance Minister and is considered a possible running mate for Mutharika in 2009. ¶11. (SBU) Dr. Hetherwick Ntaba, DPP Publicity Secretary - Ntaba was dropped from the Cabinet as Minister of Health in June 2006, however, has kept his position as Publicity Secretary of the party and has recently been appointed as Chief Political Advisor to the President. While an excellent communicator both in English and vernacular Ntaba, is one of the most opportunistic politicians in Malawi. In 2004 he left the MCP, after failing to capture the party presidency, and established his own New Congress for Democracy (NCD) party. The NCD went into alliance with the UDF during the 2004 elections. Ntaba later joined the UDF, which he left for the DPP. GILMOUR