LOCAL PERSPECTIVES ON POLITICAL PARTY LISTS AHEAD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 PRETORIA 000665 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2019 TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL SF SUBJECT: LOCAL PERSPECTIVES ON POLITICAL PARTY LISTS AHEAD OF THE APRIL 22 ELECTION PRETORIA 00000665 001.2 OF 005 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR RAYMOND L. BROWN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Poloff worked with Political Section officers to gain their perspectives and insights into South Africa's main political parties ahead of the April 22 national election. Officers provided thoughts about the parties' candidate lists and how they may help or hinder their electoral chances. The structure of the responses varies by party because multiple authors completed the analysis. End Summary. -------------- -------------- Perspective from Durban: The Inkatha Freedom Party -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi tops the Inkatha Freedom Party's (IFP) list, followed by almost all of his trusted confidantes. The IFP list is made up mostly of party stalwarts and people who have served in Parliament since ¶1994. There is a strong Zulu dominance in the list, and most of the people on the list hail from KwaZulu Natal. Secretary General Musa Zondi is high on the list; he and Buthelezi have led the party in Parliament since 1994. It is no surprise that the IFP list does not seek to groom the next generation of leaders and candidates for Parliament, but recycles old hands into new positions. The surprise name is that of Buthelezi,s long-time Italian adviser Mario Ambrosini. Ambrosini has never participated in any formal IFP structures, and this is seen as a reward for his loyalty and advice to Buthelezi. Another interesting addition to the IFP national list is that of Professor Themba Msimang, the IFP Deputy Secretary-General. He is seen as the enforcer of discipline in the party as he chairs the powerful political oversight committee responsible for deploying party members to structures of government. Msimang has never been a member of Parliament despite being one of the senior leaders of the IFP. Surprisingly, compared to the current members of Parliament, the 2009 list has a limited number of Indians and whites. The list also features some other elements: -- There is a balance between old and new members. The list is made up mostly of old parliamentarians, but there are a few new members including Msimang, Irvin Barnes, and Stanley Dladla. Most interesting about this composition is that Buthelezi complained bitterly about deadwood in the IFP at their last national conference. He vowed that some older members would not be returned to Parliament. Members who feature in the list but were identified by the IFP Youth Brigade as the deadwood include Koos van der Merve, Velaphi Ndlovu, Ben Skosana, Inka Mars, and Lionel Mtshali. More than half of the list is made up of current members of national and provincial parliaments. -- The IFP's racial mix on the list is illuminating about the party's future. There is a substantial number of whites, Indians, and coloureds. However, most of these people are long serving members of the IFP and are not new. Koos van der Merve, Inka Mars, Susan Vos, and Peter Smith are some of the whites who top the IFP list. Narend Singh is the only senior IFP leader of Indian origin who is placed high on the list. The list also features prominent coloureds like Eric Qlist. The list also features prominent coloureds like Eric Lucas, even if they do not return to Parliament. -- There is poor representation of young people in the IFP list, which could be interpreted as an IFP failure to modernize. Only three leaders of the IFP Youth Brigade are on the national and provincial list -- Pat Ntanzi, Irvine Barnes, and Thulasizwe Buthelezi. -- Meanwhile, the provincial list is topped by the IFP National Chairperson Zane Magwaza Msibi who is also the party,s premier candidate. It is the first time the IFP has nominated a woman candidate for premiership. Msibi,s nomination supports the view that she is tipped to take over from Buthelezi and lead the party. Former Premier Lionel Msthali is, surprisingly, number two on the list despite his unpopularity in the party. Many IFP leaders and supporters blame him for losing the province to the ANC in 2004. However, he is a close confidante of Buthelezi and this is PRETORIA 00000665 002.2 OF 005 believed to have helped him secure a top position on the list. More than half of the list is made up of current members of the provincial legislature for the IFP. -------------- -------------- Perspective from Cape Town: The Democratic Alliance -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) The Democratic Alliance (DA) party list is slightly different compared to other parties in that they do not publish a national list, but rather regional and provincial lists. The DA then selects MPs based on its provincial lists of parliamentary candidates. The number of constituencies the DA wins in each province will determine how many members of its provincial and regional lists become members of parliament. The reasoning behind this is to avoid persons who do not live in a region being granted seats in that region. The DA maintains that their system encourages elected officials to work harder for their region as they will be held accountable by their neighbors, friends, and community at large; they are not in a position to "go home" to another province but are forced to stay in their area and deal with the problems there. ¶4. (C) There are approximately 25 DA MPs and officials who will not be returning after the election. Some, such as Joe Seremane, have reached retirement age. Others are leaving politics, as is the case with Sandra Botha, Sheila Camerer, Tony Leon, and Douglas Gibson. Two more left to join Congress of the People (COPE). Heading the provincial list for the Western Cape is party leader Helen Zille (on the list she uses her maiden name of Maree). With the departure of the "old guard," it is expected that the DA will see many new members in both the provincial and national government, but due to the way their lists are structured, it is impossible to determine who will go to Parliament at this stage. ¶5. (C) Although the DA does not automatically include members of its youth league on its lists, it does run a Young Leaders Program and a number of the program participants are included on the lists (Lindiwe Mazibuko is one such participant and is number three on the Kwa-Zulu Natal Regional list; it is expected that she will be one of the new MPs in Parliament). The DA does not track statistics relating to the racial grouping of its candidates, although there is a general consensus that there has been in increase in black candidates since the 2004 national election; there is also agreement that there are more women candidates than in 2004. -------------- -------------- Perspective from Cape Town: The Independent Democrats -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) The top ten candidates on the national list for the Independent Democrats (ID) includes Patricia De Lille, Haniff Hoosen, Ari Seirlis, Joe McGluwa, Khosi Mncedane, Agnes Tsamai, Steven Otter, Brett Herron, Aubrey Tshalata, and Xanthea Limberg. Most notably absent from the Independent Democrats list are Avril Harding and Simon Grindrod, both of whom left the ID to join COPE. Meanwhile, Cecil Burges crossed to the African National Congress (ANC). Harding was the former Secretary-General and Chief Whip of the party while Grindrod is the former National Deputy Leader of the Qwhile Grindrod is the former National Deputy Leader of the ID, former leader of its City of Cape Town caucus, and PR member of the Cape Town City Council. It is not likely that the defection of Grinrod, Harding, and Burges will affect the ID any more negatively than if they had stayed with the party. The party itself is still relatively new and, as such, neither Grinrod, Harding, nor Burges have built up a personal following which would leave the party if they left. The top three candidates each have intriguing backgrounds: -- Patricia de Lille, the president of the ID, has been active in politics for a quarter of a century. She is known for her role as a trade unionist in the struggle and as the initial whistle-blower on the infamous arms-deal scandal that still plagues the South African Government. She became an MP in 1994 and went on to chair the parliamentary committee on transport until 1999. In March 2003, she formed the Independent Democrats, which won national and provincial seats in the 2004 elections. PRETORIA 00000665 003.2 OF 005 -- Haniff Hoosen, the ID's Secretary-General and an MP, hails from Durban. He joined the ID in September 2005 and was soon after appointed as the ID's Election Campaign Manager in March 2006. He also served as an ID Councilor on the Durban Metro Council in 2006. After becoming a member of the ID's National Executive Committee, Hoosen was elected as the ID's Secretary General in 2007 and to Parliament in 2008. -- Ari Seirlis is the National Director of the QuadPara Association of South Africa and has held the position since ¶2001. The Association strives to prevent spinal cord injury, as well as protect and promote the interests of people with mobility impairments. Seirlis broke his neck in a car accident in 1985 which rendered him a quadriplegic. ¶7. (C) The 2009 elections will be the second time that the ID is participating in a national election. Although the party will vehemently deny it, they are in a fight for their survival. The emergence of COPE has presented many of their supporters with new choices, and the DA has grown in strength amongst both coloured and black people in the Western Cape. The inclusion of Aristides Seirlis is an attempt by the party to gain votes amongst a previously untapped voters pool, although it is perhaps a case of too little too late. Notably, the ID has increased their number of female candidates from 44 percent to 56 percent. Black candidates increased from 35 percent to 47 percent, while there was only a marginal increase in white and Indian candidates, with coloured candidates remaining at 40 percent. -------------- -------------- Perspective from Pretoria: The Congress of the People -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) As expected, Mvumelwano "Mvume" Dandala, COPE,s presidential candidate, appeared first on the national list. Party president Mosiuoa Lekota followed him on the roll. Amid controversial statements about COPE,s leadership problems, the party's first Deputy President Mbhazima Shilowa appears at number five following the party's second Deputy President Lynda Odendaal and Treasurer General Hilda Ndude. Deputy Secretary-General Deidre Carter is listed at number six, and old ANC hand Smuts Ngonyama appears at number nine. Anele Mda, who was originally tipped to lead the COPE Youth League but ultimately lost out, appears at number ten. Former Eastern Cape Premier Zisiwe Balindlela is at number 11, and Dennis Bloem, who recently defected from the ANC, makes his appearance at number 30. ¶9. (C) The top order of the COPE national list comprises a number of old school politicians such as Shilowa, Lekota, and Ngonyama -- recently lifetime members of the ANC. However, the list also brings in a new element of business-oriented professionals, such as Odendaal and Carter, both of whom offer a new management style to politics. As both the selection of Odendaal and Carter shows, gender equality is important to the party. COPE has adopted a fifty-fifty gender policy with its national list. Young people also are well-represented as demonstrated with the selection of Mda. At 30 years old, she currently is the youngest member on the list. Labor is represented in COPE, as former Congress of Qlist. Labor is represented in COPE, as former Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) President Willie Madisha makes an appearance on the Limpopo provincial to national list as the top candidate. Although he was ousted from COSATU for his support of Mbeki, Madisha has been instrumental in forming another trade union as an alternative to COSATU, which he claims will have no affiliation to COPE. ¶10. (C) Beyond Madisha, most of the provincial lists are filled with unknowns and controversial populists. The majority of COPE's premier candidates in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, Free State, Kwa-Zulu Natal, and the North West are not very well known to the population. For example, COPE,s premier candidate in the Free State will be up against the populist Ace Magashule. In the Eastern Cape, which COPE maintains as its provincial support base, former presidential advisor Wiseman Nkhuhlu will be running for office. Allan Boesak is COPE,s Western Cape premier candidate, and although popular amongst the coloured community, his criminal past may come back to haunt him. COPE,s candidate for the premiership of Gauteng, Lyndall Shope-Mafole, had good standing in the ANC and managed to get elected onto the ANC's National Executive Committee before PRETORIA 00000665 004.2 OF 005 defecting to COPE. Her main challenge will be campaigning in a province that does not know her. -------------- -------------- Perspective from Johannesburg: The African National Congress -------------- -------------- ¶11. (C) As expected, ANC President Jacob Zuma is at the top of the list followed by ANC Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, ANC National Chairperson Baleka Mbete, and Finance Minister Trevor Manuel in rank order. Despite recent controversy and criticism surrounding the current Minister of Education, Naledi Pandor is still at number 10. (Note: Pandor has been heavily criticized by the ANC's Youth League for the department's failure to lift flagging test scores. End Note.) The newly appointed Minister of Health has made an impression in the ANC with the way she has quickly made progress with the challenges facing the Department of Health and is in position number 20. However, she had a recent public spat with the ANC when she opposed a government decision to deny the Dalai Lama entry to South Africa, which may yet come back to haunt her. Other ministers also feature on the list. For instance, the current Minister of Labor, Membathisi Mdladlana, was previously a supporter of former President Thabo Mbeki but has since become a staunch supporter of Zuma in the former Deputy President's quest to save his political career. The current Minister of Trade and Industry Mandisi Mpahlwa is fairly low on the list in 49th place, but is still a player on the roll. Mpahlwa was criticized by the ANC for his lack of consultation with the party and its alliance members. The current Minister of Environmental Affairs, Marthinus Van Schalkwyk, is number 63. Tito Mboweni is starkly absent on the ANC National list and his re-instatement as the Governor of the Reserve Bank may be unlikely as he is not popular with many alliance members. ¶12. (C) The ANC's list features a balance between new candidates and continuity, yet there are some salient changes. The mix of new candidates such as Bathabile Dlamini at number 16 and long-time leaders such as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela at number five and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma at number six illustrates that while the ANC sees the need to harvest new talent there is also a greater need for continuity and known players. Even though the list contains a greater number of candidates who are presently serving in Parliament, there are new faces on the top 20 like Emmanuel Nzimande, Emmanuel Mthethwa , Angelina Motshekga, and Fikile Mbalula. (Note: On March 31 the Electoral Court of South Africa ruled in favor of Madikizela-Mandela, allowing her to remain as a candidate for the ANC despite a felony conviction because she later received a suspended sentence and was not incarcerated. The Freedom Front Plus had lodged a court complaint with the Independent Electoral Commission, stating that Madikizela-Mandela did not qualify as a candidate due to her criminal record. Madikizela-Mandela was found guilty on 43 counts of fraud and 25 of theft, but in 2004 a judge in the Pretoria High Court overturned the conviction for theft while upholding the one for fraud. She was handed a suspended sentence of three years and six months. End Note.) Qsuspended sentence of three years and six months. End Note.) ¶13. (C) Gender balance remains important to the ANC, as its list indicates. The ANC has maintained equal gender representations; fifty percent of the top twenty alone are women. Madikizela-Mandela is a controversial candidate but enjoys great support from many African women as a former Women,s League President. Mbete at number three is a former ANC Women,s League Secretary General, and Dlamini is supported mainly by young women as she is the former ANC Women's League National Secretary. Motshekga at number 18 is the ANC Women's League President and a staunch Zuma supporter. Mbeki was committed to gender representation, and it is clear that the ANC under Zuma,s rule will continue with this policy to keep the support of the women,s vote and the loyalty of the ANC Women's League. ¶14. (C) Youth also remains important as the ANC Youth League helped to propel Zuma into power. Mbeki,s regime did not incorporate Youth League representation on the ANC list, but this has changed with Zuma. The top twenty includes two former presidents of the ANC Youth League: Fikile Mbalula at number 11 and Malusi Gigaba at number 19. At the ANC's national congress in 2007 at Polokwane, the ANC committed itself in ensuring youth leadership development. Thus, even PRETORIA 00000665 005.2 OF 005 though youth numbers are low they are better placed than in comparison to the Mbeki government. Interestingly, despite the ANC's commitment to include traditional leaders and chiefs on the list, only Patekile Holomisa at number 41 is on the roll. Zuma has criticized the previous ANC regime for not working closely with traditional leaders. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶15. (C) Analysis of the parties' list by Political Section officers is helpful to gain a better understanding of the state of play ahead of the national election. Ongoing contact with academics, political commentators, party members, and party leaders is useful in attaining context and impressions for analysis into South African politics. However, a thorough examination of party lists as conducted by officers across the mission helps to bolster the context with research and interpretation. LA LIME