BENIN: PRESIDENT YAYI CIRCUMVENTS IMPASSE IN NATIONAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COTONOU 000452

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W DORSEY LOCKART AND DON HEFLIN
LONDON FOR PETER LORD
PARIS FOR BKANEDA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KMCA BN
SUBJECT: BENIN: PRESIDENT YAYI CIRCUMVENTS IMPASSE IN NATIONAL
ASSEMBLY TO MOVE ON URGENT LEGISLATION

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REFTEL: COTONOU 450

1.(U) SUMMARY: On July 28 President Yayi invoked his power under
Benin's Constitution to sign into law a series of bills which the
National Assembly's opposition deputies refused to pass by
continuously adjourning parliamentary sessions without taking
action. The bills President Yayi signed included a coastal
prevention project for which donor funds would expire by July 31
along with an amended investment code offering development
opportunities. This decision will likely worsen the tension between
President Yayi's coalition and the opposition bloc at the National
Assembly. END SUMMARY.

2.(U) On July 28, following weeks of deadlock at the National
Assembly (Reftel) President Yayi exercised his constitutional
prerogative to approve 4 bills that the National Assembly's deputies
refused to adopt. President Yayi used Article 68 of the Constitution
which provides that when the institutions of the Republic, the
independence of the Nation, the national integrity or the
implementation of international engagements are threatened in a
serious and immediate way and that the smooth functioning of the
government is threatened or interrupted, the President of the
Republic, after consultations with the Presidents of the National
Assembly and Constitutional Court, can sign laws without the
National Assembly's approval. Note: Former Presidents Kerekou and
Soglo resorted in the past to this kind of order when deputies voted
down their proposed budgets. End Note. Article 69 of the
constitution entitles the National Assembly to set the time limit
beyond which the President can no longer take such actions.

3.(U) The bills included three loan agreements for coastal erosion
prevention signed respectively with the OPEC Fund for Development,
the Republic of Kuwait and the Saudi Fund, which together are worth
roughly USD 79 million (CFA 32 billion),and a bill amending the
investment code and the regulatory framework for outstanding
investments. In a public statement, President Yayi explained that he
decided to use his power to sign the bills into law after
legislators had repeatedly postponed voting on the bills as the
deadline set by the donors for approval is July 31 and that it would
take three days for the Supreme Court to clear the bills after he
acted. According to him, the government would lose a significant
development opportunity if it did not ratify these agreements on
time.

4.(U) Previous to Yayi's July 28 decision, Joseph Gnonlonfoun, a
political leader in the pro-Yayi FCBE coalition filed an appeal on
July 25 before the Constitutional Court regarding the deputies'
repeated adjournments of parliamentary sessions without action. The
Constitutional Court ruled that by adjourning without considering
the bills the National Assembly had violated its constitutional
obligation to consider legislation. The Constitutional Court's
ruling probably encouraged President Yayi to use his constitutional
prerogative to sign these bills into law.

5.(U) While some living in the areas affected by coastal erosion
applauded the decision, President Yayi's action received mixed
reactions from political observers and sparked legal debates over
whether or not the bills rose to the level which required the
President to use his powers under Article 68. Some observers argued
that President Yayi should have engaged in further negotiations with
the opposition to get the bills passed while others said that the
president had no time for further discussions and made the right
choice. A source close to the G13 leadership (one of the larger
opposition groupings in the National Assembly) told post that
President Yayi's decision would make life even harder for Yayi at
the National Assembly.


6. (SBU) On July 29, President Yayi convened the diplomatic corps to
explain his decision, highlighting the July 31 deadline for approval
of the donor-funded erosion project. He insisted that the action
related only to the subject projects and was not intended as a means
to achieve "political reform." The Ambassador and her French
counterpart welcomed the briefing, noting the potential negative
implications of such action in a democracy and encouraged dialogue
and negotiation.

7.(SBU)COMMENT: While President Yayi circumvented, for now, the
opposition majority at the National Assembly this will almost
certainly pave the way for fiercer political battles. It is likely
that opposition deputies will invoke their right under Article 69 to
limit President Yayi's power to make laws without their approval and
then continue with their opposition to his program. The National
Assembly is due to consider legal reforms essential for MCA-Benin's
Access to Justice and Access to Land programs this fall which could

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provide another opportunity for a showdown between the deputies in
the National Assembly and Yayi. As new parliamentary elections will
not be called until 2012 success for President Yayi in the National
Assembly demands that he build a coalition with members of some
groups which now vehemently oppose him. END COMMENT.

BROWN