VZCZCXRO8766
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHCO #0452/01 2111718
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291718Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY COTONOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0460
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1296
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0365
RUEHLMC/MILLENIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHDC

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 
 
COTONOU 00000452  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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 
 
COTONOU 00000452  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
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