VZCZCXRO6072
RR RUEHDU RUEHJO
DE RUEHTN #0083/01 0910840
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 010840Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3039
INFO RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0087
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 6353
RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 3254
RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 2111

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAPE TOWN 000083 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PDEM SF
SUBJECT: DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE (DA) WINS BIG IN TWO LOCAL 
ELECTIONS 
 
1.(SBU) Summary: On March 25, The Democratic Alliance, the 
largest opposition party in Parliament and key member of the 
coalition leading Cape Town, won two Cape Town local council 
by-elections by considerable margins, suggesting the party is 
well-placed for a strong showing in national elections in the 
Western Cape on April 22.  Both by-elections were peaceful 
and without incident, and turnout was relatively high. 
Poloff and Econoff visited polling stations in the two 
wards-one in the middle-class northern suburb of Parow and 
other in the gritty Mitchell,s Plain township on the Cape 
Flats-and witnessed vibrant campaigning by all major parties, 
as well as a few smaller local ones. End summary. 
 
---------------------------- 
Ward 2-Bellville and Parow 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U)  Poloff visited polling stations in Cape Town,s Ward 
2, which comprises the predominantly middle-class, 
Afrikaans-speaking neighborhoods of Parow and Bellville, 
wherein the racial makeup is mixed white and colored.  The 
election here-a stronghold of the Democratic Alliance-was 
necessitated by the death of the local councilor.  Despite 
being contested by the ANC and the Congress of the People, 
the result was no surprise, as the DA candidate won more than 
96 percent of the vote on a voter turnout of 36 percent. 
 
¶3. (U)  Although the ANC, DA and COPE competed for the vacant 
seat, only the former two parties had a significant presence 
in the ward in terms of both personnel and campaign posters, 
which in South Africa is a primary mode of campaign outreach. 
 As has been the case for weeks, COPE had very few posters in 
the wards and at the polling stations, both of party leader 
Lekota and of their ward candidate.  A COPE official 
explained to Poloff that COPE does not have the funding to 
put up posters as much as the party would like. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Poloff met an ANC offical at one polling station, 
and he accused the DA of engaging in underhanded tactics in 
getting out voters.  The candidate-a white, Afrikaner man who 
did not wear any clothing or emblem that affiliated him with 
the ANC-said he personally approached voters and asked, "did 
the DA call you to come vote?"  He said that many of the 
voters responded that the DA did call them and tell them to 
come vote, "or else the blacks will take over."  The Cape 
Times reported after the poll that the DA was accused of 
illegally providing food parcels in order to secure votes. 
Poloff saw no indications of any illegal or underhanded 
campaigning by the DA. 
 
¶5. (SBU)  The ANC official also introduced Poloff to former 
Cape Town Mayor Nomaindiya Mfeketo (a member of the NEC and 
number 22 on the ANC National list), a local resident who had 
come to vote.  In their brief discussion, Mfeketo criticized 
Health Minister Barbara Hogan for speaking out against the 
SAG for refusing the Dalai Lama a visa, saying Hogan does not 
know her place within the ANC and should not have spoken 
against the party line. 
 
-------------------------- 
Ward 79-Mitchell,s Plain 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) In Mitchell,s Plain,s Ward 79--comprising the 
Eastridge section of the poor, colored township on the Cape 
Flats--the DA won with 79 percent of the vote, taking the 
ward from the Independent Democrats.  Its candidate was 
formerly the ward,s councilor for the ID before defecting to 
the DA, a move that prompted the election.  The poll, which 
had a turnout of 37 percent, had several more contestants 
than the by-election in Parow, including the major parties 
Qthan the by-election in Parow, including the major parties 
DA, ANC, COPE and ID, as well as local minnows like the Cape 
Party and the Universal Party. 
 
¶7. (U)  Econoff saw posters for all of the contesting parties 
but, as in Parow, COPE,s presence was far less visible than 
the others.  The DA in particular appeared to pour extensive 
resources into this poll, and Econoff observed a pickup truck 
towing a large DA billboard, picturing the leader of the DA 
and Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille.  Election officials from all 
parties indicated no problems in their discussions with 
Econoff. 
 
--------- 
Comment 
---------- 
 
¶8. (SBU)  One cannot put too much stock into by-election 
 
CAPE TOWN 00000083  002 OF 002 
 
 
results as a measure of a party,s broader popularity. 
Municipal elections are the one democratic exercise where 
South African voters vote directly for a candidate, and a 
popular personality-like the DA,s candidate in Ward 79, can 
overshadow party affiliations.  However, the DA,s 
overwhelming majority win in these by-elections bodes well 
for their chances in the upcoming Western Cape Provincial 
elections, and in particular the party,s efforts to woo 
colored voters disenchanted with the ANC and ID.  Given that 
colored voters make up about 55 percent of the Western Cape 
electorate, their support will prove crucial in determining 
who wins the province. 
MAYBERRY