DAVIZ SIMANGO WINS BEIRA MAYOR SLOT AS AN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MAPUTO 001190 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV MZ SUBJECT: DAVIZ SIMANGO WINS BEIRA MAYOR SLOT AS AN INDEPENDENT REF: A. MAPUTO 1083 ¶B. MAPUTO 919 ¶C. MAPUTO 901 ¶D. MAPUTO 846 ¶E. MAPUTO 791 ¶F. MAPUTO 714 Classified By: Classified by Charge d'Affaires Todd C. Chapman, Reasons 1.5(b+d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Daviz Simango, incumbent and highly popular Beira mayor, has won reelection, only this time as an independent. Acting more as a technocrat than a politician, Simango has a reputation for having made the city cleaner, a better place in which to live, and for minimizing corruption. If successful, his election may signal the emergence of a new generation of politicians; those who do not identify with either major political party. During a recent visit to Beira, the Charge met with Simango and found him to be an excellent interlocutor on political issues with a national vision who, at this stage, is Mozambique's most successful opposition political figure. -------------- DAVIZ WINS BEIRA EASILY -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Provisional election results posted on November 20 by the Election Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE) and reported on Radio Mozambique show Daviz Simango easily won reelection in Beira. Results from 126 of 260 polling stations in the city show Simango with 45,487 votes leading FRELIMO's Lourenco Bulha by about 20,000 votes. Independent newspaper O Pais declared Daviz Simango the winner with an unofficial 62 percent of the 103,150 votes cast in the mayoral race. Large numbers of international and domestic observers were stationed throughout Beira observing both the election and vote tabulation, to ensure transparency. Simango drew large numbers of votes, even in the affluent neighborhoods of Beira which have typically voted FRELIMO in the past. -------------- -------------- MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY RESULTS MEAN COALITION NEEDED -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Voters voted for both a mayor and, on a separate ballot, for a party to serve in the Municipal Assembly. The results of the Assembly vote in Beira do not give any single party majority power, though provisional results for the Beira Assembly vote show a strong FRELIMO result with 41 percent, RENAMO with 38 percent, and a small independent party Group for Democracy (GDB) with 15 percent of votes cast. A handful of other parties received a smattering of votes, far fewer than the three front runners As a result, no single party will have an absolute majority in the Beira Assembly, even after the seats are allocated through the D'Hondt method. Observers believe that of the 45 Assembly seats in Beira, 19 will go to FRELIMO, 17 to RENAMO, 7 to GDB, and one each to two small parties. While FRELIMO could choose to be obstructionist and stall Simango's attempts to pass legislation, the mayor holds a trump card with the right to dissolve the Assembly and call for new elections in which his party, should it run independently of RENAMO, would surely gain seats. ¶4. (C) Most observers agree with Miguel de Brito, Country Director for EISA, a South Africa-based democracy NGO, who believes that surprisingly strong showing of GDB in the Assembly vote compared to the mayoral race is not due to fraud, but voter confusion, who thought that GDB was Simango's party due to its placement on the ballot. Beira voters, who voted overwhelmingly for Simango, became confused by the Municipal Assembly ballot and erroneously voted for GDB, which received 38 times more votes in the Municipal Assembly vote than did their candidate in the mayoral election. -------------- THE PUBLIC SUPPORTS HIM... -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Public support for the mayor is evident throughout the city. Waiters in a local restaurant jostle for the honor of serving the Mayor, local journalists talk with pleasure of MAPUTO 00001190 002 OF 003 road repairs which save wear and tear on vehicles, and long time residents speak happily of regular garbage pickup and a clean, safe central plaza, all of which are attributed directly to Simango. His name appears in graffiti on walls, home made signs, and even on a child's toy in the former RENAMO stronghold. -------------- ...BECAUSE HE FIGHTS CORRUPTION -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Simango is described as more of a technocrat than a politician. With the same budget as previous mayors, he took Beira from a town of dilapidated buildings, a broken sewage system, potholed roads and mountains of uncollected garbage, to a safer, cleaner, functioning city. He did so by minimizing corruption. Simango broke with precedent and awarded business and construction licenses to competent contractors, rather than party faithful, generating significant goodwill and increasing tax revenues. -------------- POLITICAL PEDIGREE REGAINING LUSTER -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Urias Simango, the mayor's father, was a key figure in Mozambique's war of independence but was disgraced when jealous political enemies accused him of being a traitor. The family reputation was recently restored thanks to a new study of the period which successfully refutes the allegations and, some say, reinforced Daviz Simango's status as the son of one of the founding fathers of Mozambique. -------------- CATHOLIC CHURCH SPEAKS HIGHLY OF DAVIZ -------------- ¶8. (C) The Charge recently met with Father Ticaque, representative of Roman Catholic Archbishop Goncalves, who characterized Mayor Daviz Simango as a charismatic and successful mayor, bringing visible improvements to the city and running the mayor's office transparently, while remaining accessible to his constituents, and even drawn the support of some FRELIMO party members. Ticaque confirmed a widely held view that Simango has a technocratic style and appoints his deputies based on ability, rather than party allegiance. Ticaque explained that Simango's openness and availability are viewed as an attempt to gain popularity before challenging Dhlakama. Calling Dhalakama's decision not to nominate Simango as RENAMO's candidate for mayor in the upcoming election ill-advised and a serious miscalculation, Ticaque said that Beira could become the center of a third major political party consisting of youth, academics and disaffected members of RENAMO and FRELIMO. -------------- CHARGE MEETS WITH DAVIZ SIMANGO -------------- ¶9. (C) During their meeting just prior to the elections, Mayor Simango told the Charge that he still considered himself a member of RENAMO as there was no statutory mechanism for removal of members, adding that there was no democracy in RENAMO due to Dhlakama's dictatorial style. He expressed concern at the lack of strategy and focus in the party preceding the November 19 elections, predicting that RENAMO would lose all of the five municipalities it previously controlled. In his opinion, such a loss would signal the end of RENAMO as a major political party. According to Simango, FRELIMO is strong and well organized by comparison, using the "seven million meticais" local initiative funds and President Guebuza's "open presidency" to cement party control throughout the country. -------------- COMMENT: SIMANGO, POLITICS OF PERSONALITY -------------- ¶10. (C) Simago seems to be the emerging leader of a new generation of politicians who do not necessarily identify with either FRELIMO or RENAMO. If successful, Simango's next five-year term as Mayor could provide the time to solidify his new political party and base, positioning it well for the 2014 general elections. Daviz Simango appears to have a strong understanding of the way forward for opposition MAPUTO 00001190 003 OF 003 politics in Mozambique, and may become a national contender in years to come, filling a much needed void in the political landscape ) representing young voters who do not have a stake in the legacy of Mozambique's early partisan politics between FRELIMO and RENAMO. Well liked and capable to boot, Daviz Simango is likely to continue gaining notoriety for his efforts to improve Beira. While still a regional player, the November 19 election provided Simango with significant free press, giving him national notoriety. Simango is an excellent interlocutor on political issues with a national vision who, at this stage, is Mozambique's most successful opposition political figure. Chapman