LEADING POLITICAL PARTY COALITION FALLS APART

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NOUAKCHOTT 001144

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2016
TAGS: PINR PREL PGOV PHUM EAID KPAO MR
SUBJECT: LEADING POLITICAL PARTY COALITION FALLS APART

Classified By: CDA Steven Koutsis, Reasons 1.4(b)(d)

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(C) Summary
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-- On August 31, the Alliance for Justice and Democracy (AJD)
announced that it had split from the Bloc For Change (BPC)
political party coalition.

-- The BPC was Mauritania's first political party coalition,
and the only coalition with a clearly defined platform,
namely, supporting the rights of Afro-Mauritanians.

-- AJD president (an Afro-Mauritanian) told PolOff that
"Mauritania is not yet ready for an Afro-Mauritanian
president," and that he will run instead for a seat in the
National Assembly.

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(C) Comments
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-- BPC's fate illustrates the ongoing struggle of political
parties and coalitions as they fight to gain relevance in the
unfamiliar territory of a democratic transition.

-- It appears the main goal of the parties is to leverage
their position in a coalition to strengthen their own hands.
This only leads to mistrust rather than the building of
consensus, and such break-ups are inevitable.

-- Other coalitions, including the current frontrunner "The
Coalition of Forces for Democratic Change," also appear to be
struggling to stay together.

End Summary and Comments.


1. (U) On August 31, the AJD (Alliance for Justice and
Democracy) announced that it had split from the BPC (Bloc For
Change) political party coalition. The BPC was Mauritania's
first political party coalition, and the only coalition with
a clearly defined platform, namely, supporting the rights of
Afro-Mauritanians. While the three remaining parties in the
BPC have vowed to continue working together in the run-up to
elections, AJD was by far the largest and most powerful party
in the coalition, and their departure greatly weakens BPC's
electoral prospects.

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INFIGHTING AND EGOS IN MAURITANIA'S ONLY "REAL" COALITION
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2. (C) AJD President Cheikh Amadou Cisse told PolOff
September 12 that "the coalition struggled from the
beginning," adding that "each party wanted to control the
direction of the coalition, and many members had their own
personal ambitions." "When the BPC formed, we were the only
real coalition, with a plan to fight for the rights of all
Afro-Mauritanians...but after a while, the coalition focused
more on gaining power, and less on our support for
Afro-Mauritanian issues," Cisse said.


3. (C) Cisse explained that he finally decided to withdraw
AJD from the coalition following the decision by the other
coalition members to accept the membership of a fifth
political party (the unrecognized Party for Mauritanian
Development) headed by Abdelkoudous Ould Abeidna, a wealthy
businessman and cousin of former President Taya. "Taya was
the worst enemy of Afro-Mauritanians, and the membership of
Abeidna's party would be a betrayal of all of AJD's members,"
Cisse said, adding that "the other coalition members clearly
didn't care about our cause, only our chances for political
success."

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AJD'S NEW ELECTORAL PLAN
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4. (C) Cisse said AJD will not look to form or join another
coalition before the municipal and legislative elections in
November, but will instead run its own party candidates in

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those races. "We don't have enough time to correctly partner
with other parties," he said, adding that "after the
elections we will assess how each party and coalition
performed, and then make our decision as we move towards
March's presidential elections."


5. (C) AJD intends to submit municipal and legislative
candidate lists in Guidimakha, Trarza, Nouadhibou, Zouerate,
Gorgol, Brakna, and Nouakchott.


6. (C) Cisse said that he has no plans to run for the
presidency, and will instead seek one of Mauritania's 14
newly added National Deputy Seats in the National Assembly.
"Mauritania is not yet ready for an Afro-Mauritanian
president, so I am not planning to run in March," he said.

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CISSE'S PRESIDENTIAL PERSPECTIVES
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7. (C) Cisse refused to offer any names of presidential
candidates he thought had the greatest chance of winning.
However, he did say that "Mauritania's presidents have always
had a close connection to the military, and this election
will be no different." "The next president will not be
anyone the military is opposed to," he said. In response to
PolOff's question if the military council would intervene in
the race, Cisse said he believed the council "would remain
neutral in public...but would privately not allow anyone that
threatened them to rise up."


8. (C) Cisse said "the current coalitions and all but a few
of the current political parties are essentially irrelevant."
"The race for the presidency will be decided by those with
power...whether they are members of a political party, a
coalition, or are simply independent Mauritanian citizens."
Koutsis