OPPOSITION DEPUTIES RETURN TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000688

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL IV
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION DEPUTIES RETURN TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

REF: ABIDJAN 633

Classified By: DCM V. VALLE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C) Summary. Opposition deputies agreed to return to the
National Assembly on June 23 in order to receive salaries
that had been withheld for three months by the FPI president
of the Assembly. The denouement of what should have been a
relatively minor affair is a victory for President Gbagbo and
the ruling FPI but the future role of the National Assembly
remains unclear. Prime Minister Banny has said he will not
submit any legislation to the Assembly for its consideration,
but under the Constitution only the President or members of
the National Assembly can introduce legislation in any case.
End summary.

Opposition Deputies Climb Down and Return to Parliament
--------------


2. (U) Deputies from the opposition RHDP coalition, which
had been boycotting the National Assembly after the body's
mandate expired last December, threw in the towel last week
and agreed to return to the Assembly in order to receive
their salaries, which had been withheld for the last three
months by Assembly president and ruling FPI party hardliner
Mamadou Koulibaly as punishment for their absenteeism.


3. (U) After a meeting between President Gbagbo and all the
deputies on June 19, a joint commission was established to
resolve the crisis chaired by presidential spokesman Desire
Tagro and including representatives from the Prime Minister's
office and each of the political factions in parliament (FPI
and the opposition PDCI, UDPCI, and Solidarity). The
commission drafted an agreement that was signed on June 23 by
representatives of the various Ivoirian parties in the
presence of President Gbagbo and Prime Minister Banny, and in
which the RHDP deputies agreed to return to the National
Assembly to resume their duties according to the Constitution
and UNSC Resolution 1633. Shortly before signing this
agreement, and as a quid pro quo for doing so, the opposition
deputies received 60% of their salary arrears, or about CFA 4
million (about $8,000) each.


4. (C) The RHDP deputies also affirmed their readiness to
carry out peace missions entrusted to them by the Prime
Minister. These missions were cited by the International
Working Group (IWG) in its communique of last January, when
it recommended that the Prime Minister send the former
deputies, now that their mandate had expired, on peace
missions throughout Cote d'Ivoire. The idea was to keep the
deputies gainfully employed and away from legislative
matters. (The IWG mentioned these missions again in its most
recent communique of June 23, in which it demanded that all
deputies be paid their proper salaries equally so that they
could carry out the PM's peace missions. The opposition
deputies, however, had already signed the agreement to return
to parliament before the IWG communique was issued.)


Victory for the FPI
--------------


5. (C) The recent turn of events represents a victory for
Gbagbo and his FPI supporters. First, they have succeeded in
getting the opposition deputies to accept their position that
the National Assembly's mandate remains in effect. They have
also highlighted the venality of the opposition deputies, who
were all too willing to climb down from their position for
the sake of receiving their paychecks. (In a meeting with
Ambassador on June 21, opposition party leaders argued
vehemently and unconvincingly that their position was based
on principle, but the issue of contention seemed always to
return to money.)

Dissent Within the Opposition
--------------


6. (C) In addition, the dispute has fomented dissent within
and among the various opposition parties. Within the
parties, there has been a rift within deputies and their
parties' leadership. PDCI Secretary General and RHDP
chairman Djedje Mady, for example, criticized the deputies
for returning to parliament before the PM had assigned them
peace missions. (Bedie had earlier given PDCI deputies CFA
41 million to tide them over while they boycotted the
Assembly. The PDCI deputies had distributed this sum among
all opposition deputies so that each had received about CFA
500 thousand or $1,000. No word yet if the deputies agreed
to return these funds now that they have begun receiving
their salary arrears.) The UDPCI leadership also criticized
the return of the opposition deputies.


ABIDJAN 00000688 002 OF 002


It's Alimentary
--------------


7. (U) Among the opposition parties, the MFA, who does not
have members in parliament and therefore finds it easier to
stand on "principle," was particularly critical of the
deputies who returned, with the MFA accusing them of
discrediting the National Assembly and of behaving as "food
deputies" (deputes alimentaires) who thought only of their
bellies. The RDR, who similarly lacks official
representatives in parliament, asserted that the opposition
deputies were returning, not to examine bills, but only to
work on the peace missions assigned to them by Banny.

Gbagbo Strengthened, Banny Weakened
--------------


8. (C) The Assembly dispute has strengthened Gbagbo and
weakened Banny. The former has intervened forcefully to
resolve the impasse while the PM has engendered resentment
among the opposition parties for not acting to pay the
boycotting deputies and "forcing" them to slink back to
parliament on the FPI's terms. Gbagbo played up his victory
by commenting at the signing ceremony that "one cannot let
Prime Minister Banny work alone, otherwise he will not
succeed." Gbagbo has also been fortified by his role in
ending the university professors' strike (septel). After
meeting on June 21 with representatives of the group of
university professors (CNEC) that has been leading the
strike, the professors announced on June 23 that they were
going back to work even though Gbagbo offered them no
concessions beyond those previously proposed by the Prime
Minister.

But Future Role of National Assembly Remains Unclear
--------------


9. (C) Beyond the divisions created by this affair and the
time wasted over what should have been a relatively minor
issue, the future role of the reconstituted National Assembly
remains unclear. The agreement that was signed stipulates
that all the laws required by past peace accords have already
been enacted by the National Assembly. It also contains an
implicit understanding that President Gbagbo and Prime
Minister Banny will be responsible for implementing any
additional measures required by the peace process without
submitting them to the National Assembly for approval.
However, it remains to be seen how this understanding will
work in practice. If the opposition deputies refuse to
participate in legislative debates, the FPI deputies may move
to reimpose disciplinary measures such as suspension of
benefits or even expulsion of recalcitrant deputies. On the
other hand, PM Banny told the IWG on June 23 that he had no
intention of presenting any legislation to the National
Assembly and that he considered the 2006 budget, proposed by
the executive branch but not submitted to the Assembly, as
already approved. However, under article 42 of Cote
d'Ivoire's constitution, only the President or members of the
National Assembly have the right to introduce legislation.
Hooks