SIRLEAF VETO PUSHES THRESHOLD BILL BACK TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MONROVIA 000695

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM EAID LI
SUBJECT: SIRLEAF VETO PUSHES THRESHOLD BILL BACK TO
LEGISLATURE

REF: A) MONROVIA 280 B) MONROVIA 661

Classified By: Classified By: Amb. Linda Thomas-Greenfield for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On September 17, President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf exercised her line-item veto authority to reject the
Threshold Bill segment guaranteeing each county a minimum of
two seats in the House of Representatives. This followed a
determination by the Solicitor General confirming the
two-seat minimum's unconstitutionality. Sirleaf also told
the National Legislature that the cost of expanding the House
required under a constituency population threshold of 40,000
would adversely affect the government's anti-poverty goals.
The House responded by passing a threshold bill that removed
the two-seat minimum proviso, but maintained the 40,000
threshold. The lower chamber subsequently ended its session
on September 28. The Senate remains in session. It may soon
concur with the House action or put off consideration until
the Legislature reconvenes. Delayed action will put pressure
on plans for 2011 elections, while expansion of the House
could burden the GOL's meager budget. END SUMMARY.

SIRLEAF VETOES THRESHOLD BILL'S TWO-SEAT PER COUNTY GUARANTEE
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2. (C) President Sirleaf gave Charge advance notice of her
intent to veto the two-seat minimum provision of the
Electoral Threshold Bill passed by the Legislature (Ref B) in
a September 15 meeting. The president said that the
Solicitor General gave a "firm" legal opinion on the matter
and that the Executive Mansion was convinced that the
Legislature lacked the votes to overturn Sirleaf's veto.


3. (SBU) The president then line-item vetoed the section of
the bill guaranteeing a minimum of two House seats for each
county via a September 17 letter to the National Legislature.
She called the vetoed segment unlawful, stating that,
"allocating seats not based on (county) population growth and
movement violates the Constitution." Sirleaf also stressed
that the estimated USD 6.2 million needed to fund the
additional House seats called for in the bill would derail
national development initiatives. In her letter, the
president proposed a higher threshold of 45-50,000 residents
per constituency rather than the 40,000 in the vetoed bill.

HOUSE RESPONDS QUICKLY, SENATE REACTION DELAYED
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4. (SBU) In response to Sirleaf's action, the House of
Representatives passed a revised threshold bill during a
September 18 special session. The updated measure removed
the two-seat per county guarantee, but maintained the
population threshold at 40,000. The bill was belatedly
delivered to the Senate on September 24, after reportedly
being held up by House Speaker Alex Tyler, who opposes
Sirleaf's veto. The House then concluded its current session
in a September 28 ceremony.


5. (SBU) Sirleaf's request for a higher threshold may find
support in the Senate, where members are more favorably
inclined to accommodating Executive Mansion requests. The
Senate now has the choice of agreeing to the revised measure
or passing its own version with the president's requested
higher threshold. The former will end the debate. The
latter will push the threshold bill into a discussion by
members of both chambers in a conference committee.


6. (C) With the House out of session, there is a risk that
the threshold question may not be resolved until the next
legislative session officially begins in January 2010.
However, the president told Ambassador on September 28 that
she intends to recall the Legislature before the end of the
year to address mining concessions whose passage is needed to
avert an impending budget shortfall, and the House could
reconsider at that time. She said she is continuing to push
for a 48,000 threshold.


7. (SBU) COMMENT: Sirleaf's decision to veto the bill can be
attributed to fiscal prudence and pressure from the
International Contact Group on Liberia for passage of a
sensible threshold bill. The president's action was still
risky. Most legislators from Sirleaf's Unity Party (UP)
opposed the veto, citing possible loss of support for the
president and UP in small counties that stand to lose
representation. Even though legislators are fatigued, it is
in Liberia's interest for the president to press the
legislature to finalize the threshold bill before the end of
this year. More delay could adversely affect the credibility
and/or possibility of the 2011 election.

MONROVIA 00000695 002 OF 002




THOMAS-GREENFIELD