VZCZCXRO4814
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #0688/01 1801327
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 291327Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1511
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 1375

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