LIBERIA - LEGISLATURE SLOW TO CONFRONT HOT BUTTON ISSUES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MONROVIA 000198 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM ECON SOCI LI SUBJECT: LIBERIA - LEGISLATURE SLOW TO CONFRONT HOT BUTTON ISSUES REF: (A.) 09 MONROVIA 763; (B.) 09 MONROVIA 695; (C.) 10 MONROVIA 164 (D.) 10 MONROVIA 196 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Since the January 11 opening of the 2010 legislative session, Liberia's lawmakers have confronted, but not resolved controversial, high-profile political items, including electoral reforms and an official response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report's recommendations. Resolution of these issues is required before the 2011 elections can go ahead. However, a focus on questions meant to attract voter attention in the run-up to the 2011 vote means that unpopular legislation, such as a legislative code of conduct or measures needed to help Liberia reach Completion Point under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries' Initiative (HIPC),will lose traction if legislators are not urged to confront these latter issues. END SUMMARY. OPENING CEREMONY DRAWS HEAVY ATTENDANCE FROM GOL OFFICIALS -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) The National Legislature opened its 5th session in a January 11 joint ceremony that drew heavy attendance from all branches of government, including President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Chief Justice Johnnie Lewis. In a precursor to her January 25 annual message (Ref C),Sirleaf's keynote speech highlighted the challenges presented by the country's budgetary crisis and stressed the importance of passing an Electoral Threshold Bill. In follow-on remarks, House Speaker J. Alex Tyler promised the passage of a legislative code of conduct and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA),as well as to work with the Liberian Anti-Corruption and Governance Commissions on legal reforms. Three hundred peaceful demonstrators who were prevented from entering the Capitol grounds by security called for passage of the FOIA, threshold bill, a legislative code of conduct, and confirmation of the Independent National Human Rights Commission's (INHRC) members. PREPARATIONS FOR 2011 ELECTIONS -------------- ¶3. (U) One of the Senate's first actions was its January 12 concurrence on the Electoral Threshold Bill passed by the House of Representatives in 2009 after Sirleaf line-item vetoed the bill's earlier provision guaranteeing each county two seats in the House (Ref B). The measure was re-submitted to Sirleaf, but retained the population threshold of 40,000 residents per electoral district. [NOTE. This threshold would add 23 seats to the House at an estimated annual cost up to USD 6 million per year. END NOTE.] ¶4. (U) Sirleaf vetoed the latest threshold measure on February 10. In a letter to House Speaker Tyler, she cited the "grave financial implications" of expanding the legislature and emphasized the increasing cost of the institution's budget, which has grown by 135 percent since 2007. Sirleaf recommended a threshold of 48,000, equaling an increase of only six representatives. ¶5. (SBU) Many legislators remain committed to a threshold level which will ensure at least two seats for some of the less populous counties, but they lack the votes needed to surmount Sirleaf's veto. In a February 22 meeting with Ambassador, Sirleaf said she told Speaker Tyler and Senate President Pro Tempore Cletus Wotorson that a threshold resulting in an 8-10 seat expansion was acceptable. Any further augmentation would be too costly. ¶6. (U) A joint resolution proposing election-related constitutional amendments was put forward for senators' consideration on February ¶16. The recommended constitutional modifications in the measure are similar to those passed by the legislature in last year's "Electoral Reform Law" (Ref A). The earlier measure was forwarded MONROVIA 00000198 002 OF 003 to President Sirleaf for signature, but she passed it back to lawmakers for reconsideration. ¶7. (U) The new proposal requires presidential and vice presidential candidates to be "domiciled" in Liberia 10 years immediately prior to an election rather than physically "resident," meaning that President Sirleaf and other prospective electoral candidates who left Liberia during the civil war could participate. Unlike its predecessor, it does not attempt to reduce the president's term from six to five years. As in the 2009 measure, the constitution will be changed to: --mandate local elections of mayors and city councils; --remove the president's power to dismiss local chiefs; --raise the minimum size of a political party from 500 voters in at least six counties to 10,000 voters in ten counties; --move national elections from the second Tuesday in October of an election year to the first Tuesday in November and --require only a simple majority to win any election with the exception of the presidency and vice presidency. ¶8. (SBU) If the joint resolution is passed and signed by the president, a constitutional referendum will be required in early ¶2011. Public approval means the amendments will apply in the 2011 general election. During the Senate debate, some lawmakers contended that Liberia's constitution should be reviewed by a constitutional commission and all recommended amendments be put to a public vote in a single referendum, rather than a series of costly public polls. TRC REPORT STILL BEING DIGESTED, INHRC STALLED -------------- - ¶9. (SBU) At the close of last year's session, legislators were asked by their leaders to elicit constituent views on the recommendations in the TRC final report over the course of the fall agricultural break. Senators discussed citizen responses on January 12. Many reported calls for a path of reconciliation that disregards the report's calls for prosecution or other punishment. Other senators said that constituents want a total shelving of the report. [NOTE. Several legislators are recommended for prosecution or sanction in the TRC report. END NOTE.] ¶10. (SBU) In a related action, senators rejected the nominees for the INHRC, the TRC's successor body, in a January 28 vote. However, after a successful February 4 motion to reconsider, senators held a public cross-examination of the INHRC candidates in open session. The nominees were pressed on what emphasis they intended to place on the TRC report if confirmed. Senator Prince Johnson, a former warlord recommended for prosecution in the TRC report, was especially insistent on learning the nominees' views on how the TRC's recommendations should be executed. The respondents successfully skirted a controversial discussion by emphasizing their intent to focus on promoting human rights in Liberia if confirmed. ¶11. (SBU) Legislators have asked Sirleaf for a formal report on the "implementation of the [TRC's] recommendations" by March 1, as required by the TRC Act. Sirleaf recommended empowering the Ministry of Justice to work with the INHRC to determine whether the TRC's recommendations are constitutional in her January 22 annual message (Ref C). No further legislative action on either the TRC or INHRC is expected until after Sirleaf forwards the aforementioned items to lawmakers. MONROVIA 00000198 003 OF 003 KEY LEGISLATION FOR HIPC -------------- ¶12. (U) Chris Lane, team leader of the IMF's mission to Liberia, shared IMF concerns regarding legislative inaction on key legislation required for Liberia to reach Completion Point under the HIPC Initiative in a February 12 discussion with Econoff. President Sirleaf declared in her annual message that Liberia would achieve CP this spring. Although the legislature passed a Public Financial Management Act in August 2009, the IMF requires further amendments to the law after President Sirleaf inadvertently signed an early draft of the act that differed from the one passed by the legislature. Furthermore, the Investment Code continues to languish in committee, delayed by the contentious debate between free market reformers who wish to encourage foreign investment and those who wish to reserve particular industries for Liberians only. COMMENT -------------- ¶13. (SBU) A focus on electoral preparations and taking politically calculated actions in the run-up to the 2011 campaign means that passage of important, but unpopular legislation, such as HIPC completion measures or a code of conduct, will require pressure from the Executive Mansion with the support of international partners. There will also be public pressure for the GOL to respond to the TRC's recommendations in a manner that attracts broad public support. So far, we find the senators' reports from their constituent consultations rather disingenuous; it is unlikely that there was no sentiment for punishment for war crimes among the Liberian public. THOMAS-GREENFIELD