VZCZCXRO5572
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHMV #0776/01 2940853
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 210853Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY MONROVIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1419
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MONROVIA 000776 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W AND INR/B 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM SOCI LI
SUBJECT:  MONTSERRADO SENATE BY-ELECTION A PRECURSOR TO 2011 VOTE 
 
REF:  A) MONROVIA 570 B) MONROVIA 691 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  The National Elections Commission (NEC) will 
conduct a by-election on November 10 to elect a replacement for 
Montserrado Senator Hannah Brent who died on August 3.  The official 
campaign period is October 14-18.  Ten candidates have been approved 
and one disqualified.  The by-election, the largest since 2005, is 
seen as a precursor to the 2011 elections.  It will be the first 
test of whether or not the NEC is competent enough to independently 
execute a large-scale election. The candidates from the ruling Unity 
Party (UP) and the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) 
are the frontrunners.  The UP is expected to employ its heavy 
financial and political resources, while the CDC will once again use 
the popularity of former presidential candidate George Weah to draw 
support from Monrovia's slums.  President Sirleaf, in a decision 
that drew international public reaction, appointed Benoni Urey 
(listed on UN travel ban and assets freeze lists) as acting Mayor of 
Careysburg in order to shore up support for the election.  Former 
warlord Alhaji Kromah is also in the race and attempts to have him 
disqualified have so far proven unsuccessful.  (Brief biographical 
summaries of each candidate are listed at the end of this cable.) 
END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) On October 13, the National Elections Commission (NEC) 
approved ten candidates for the November 10 Montserrado County 
senatorial by-election.  A runoff election will be held November 24 
if no candidate wins an absolute majority.  Independent candidate 
Musu Cuch Ketter was excluded after it was revealed that she was 
convicted of bank fraud in the United States in 1998 and 
subsequently sentenced to 24 months imprisonment.  Public spaces 
were quickly blotted with campaign posters as soon as the campaign 
period opened on October 14.  The campaign phase ends two days 
before the election on November 8. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The by-election is viewed as both a precursor to the 2011 
elections and a major test for President Sirleaf's Unity Party (UP). 
 Populous Montserrado County holds 35 percent of Liberia's 
registered voters and no ethnic group holds a decisive majority. 
The number of voters involved and resources required will make the 
upcoming by-election the biggest since the 2005 presidential and 
legislative elections.  The NEC has budgeted USD 1.2 million for 
this contest, which fills the seat vacated after the August 3 death 
of Senator Hannah Brent (Ref A). 
 
OPPOSITION HOPES TO RETAIN EMPTY SEAT 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) won 
both Montserrado County Senate seats in 2005.  CDC draws heavy 
support from the densely populated Monrovia slums and is viewed as 
the most popular party in the county.  George Weah, the party's 2005 
presidential candidate, is expected to travel from the United States 
(where he is completing a bachelor's degree) to campaign for the CDC 
candidate, current party chair Geraldine Doe-Sheriff (no relation to 
former president Samuel Doe). Weah himself had been viewed as a 
possible candidate, but Doe-Sheriff prevailed over the absent Weah 
following an internal tussle among party members.  Despite this, 
Weah's presence would show the CDC's ability to get past internal 
disputes and the former football star's presence will prove vital to 
a CDC victory. 
 
PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENT MEANT TO SHORE UP SUPPORT? 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) President Sirleaf recently appointed Benoni Urey, an 
influential member of former President Charles Taylor's National 
Patriotic Party (NPP), as Acting Mayor of Careysburg, a town on the 
outskirts of greater Monrovia, and in Montserrado County.  His 
appointment is viewed by many as a gesture aimed at boosting support 
for the UP's candidate, Clemenceau Urey.  Clemenceau Urey and Benoni 
Urey are cousins and the NPP is not participating in this election. 
Benoni's mayoral appointment was a major surprise internationally 
and drew fire from many of the President's opponents, given that he 
remains a Taylor confidant and is listed on the UN Travel Ban and 
Assets Freeze lists. 
 
TRC-CITED WARLORD TO PARTICIPATE 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The CDC and UP entrants are the early favorites, but four 
other parties are fielding candidates, in addition to five 
independent contenders.  The most controversial minor candidate is 
former warlord Alhaji Kromah of the All Liberia Coalition Party. 
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended the prosecution 
of Kromah for civil war-era human rights violations in its initial, 
unedited report.  However, in an October 5 ruling, the National 
Elections Commission said Kromah could contest the election on the 
grounds that only a court could rule in the criminal and 
 
MONROVIA 00000776  002 OF 003 
 
 
constitutional charges against him.  Furthermore, the TRC's final, 
edited report has not been released (Ref B).  NEC Chairman James 
Fromayan announced in an October 7 meeting that the issue could move 
to the Supreme Court if the final, edited TRC report is released 
before the November 10 election. 
 
NEC READIES FOR MAJOR CHALLENGE 
------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) Since 2005, the NEC has conducted seven by-elections (five in 
the House and two in the Senate) following legislators' untimely 
deaths.  Each involved contests in constituencies with low 
populations.  The Montserrado election will be the NEC's largest 
vote run without UNMIL support.  Montserrado has 14 electoral 
districts, 496,508 registered voters, 280 voting precincts and 989 
polling places.  Planning has been in the works since soon after 
Brent's August 6 death and the NEC continues to outline its needs 
and progress in regular meetings with international donors.  A 
high-profile civic education campaign commenced at Monrovia's City 
Hall on October 9.  The NEC has also started recruiting poll workers 
and other election support staff.  This event will prove whether the 
NEC, with a staff of 200, has the mettle to independently conduct 
large-scale elections in Liberia. 
¶8. (SBU) COMMENT.  The UP's Urey and CDC's Doe-Sheriff are the early 
frontrunners given the star power of President Sirleaf and former 
CDC presidential candidate George Weah.  The recently released 
Afrobarometer poll for Liberia shows heavy support for both in urban 
regions of the country.  Winning the seat would be a major boost for 
President Sirleaf ahead of the 2011 presidential election. 
Overcoming CDC popularity in poorer, populous areas of Montserrado 
County is possible with the strong financial support and other 
resources at its disposal, the most important being Sirleaf herself. 
Additionally, Alhaji Kromah's participation could be the first 
opportunity to see whether the courts will back the TRC's 
recommendations in the face of a legal challenge to his 
participation if the TRC final report is released before election 
day.  The Embassy will send staff to observe the election and report 
on the results.  END COMMENT. 
 
MONTSERRADO COUNTY SENATE BY-ELECTION CANDIDATE BIOS 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
CLEMENCEAU UREY (Unity Party) is a noted businessman.  He lost a 
2005 run for the senate as a UP candidate in Montserrado.  Urey 
currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the National Oil 
Company of Liberia.  Previously, he was Commissioner of Customs and 
Excise at the Ministry of Finance.  Urey founded the Atlantic 
Insurance Company in Monrovia.  He holds a juris doctorate degree 
from Columbia University in New York and business and public 
administration degrees from Virginia Commonwealth and Syracuse 
Universities in the United States.  He is of Americo-Liberian 
descent. 
 
GERALDINE DOE-SHERIFF (Congress for Democratic Change), is a former 
female soccer star.  She hails from a prominent soccer family and 
her brothers played for the Liberian national soccer team. 
Doe-Sheriff currently serves as the CDC's chairperson.  She is also 
an executive member of the Liberia Football Association. 
Doe-Sheriff graduated from the University of Liberia and is 
currently enrolled at the Graduate School of International 
Relations.  She is married to Siaka Sheriff, a Mandingo Muslim and 
former financial comptroller at the Liberia Petroleum Refining 
Company. She hails from the Grebo ethnic group. 
 
ABRAHAM DARIUS DILLON, SR. (Liberty Party), worked as Special 
Assistant to the Solicitor General before moving on to serve as 
Chief of Staff in the office of former House Speaker Edwin Snowe. 
He currently serves as Chief of Staff in the Office of Senator Jewel 
Howard-Taylor, wife of former President Charles Taylor.  Dillon is 
also Chairman of the National Executive Board of Consortium of 
Pressure and Interest Groups of Liberia.  Dillon is a native of 
Grand Bassa County. 
 
WILSON K. TARPEH (Alliance for Peace and Democracy), contested the 
2005 election for Montserrado County senator but lost.  He currently 
serves as Vice President for Fiscal Affairs at the University of 
Liberia.  Tarpeh served as Minister of Finance during the early 
1990s.  Before then, he worked at the Agricultural and Cooperative 
Development Bank and the African Development Bank based in Abidjan. 
Tarpeh owns The News newspaper, which he established in 1989.  He 
also teaches business and finance courses at various Universities in 
Monrovia. 
 
ALHAJI KROMAH (All Liberia Coalition Party) is a former warlord and 
founder of the defunct ULIMO-K warring faction blamed for some of 
the worst forms of human rights abuses during Liberia's civil war. 
He is an ethnic Mandingo who unsuccessfully contested the 1997 and 
2005 presidential elections.  He formerly served as Director General 
of the Liberia Broadcasting System and Minister of Information 
during the administration of former President Samuel Doe.  He is 
 
MONROVIA 00000776  003 OF 003 
 
 
recommended for prosecution for human rights violations in the 
unedited TRC report.  Kromah currently teaches mass communication at 
the University of Liberia. He is a Muslim. 
 
JASPER F. NDARBORLOR (Free Democratic Party) is pastor at the 
Monrovia Free Pentecostal Church in Sinkor, Monrovia.  He is a 
respected member of the clergy, but was accused of sexual abuse of a 
minor in 2004.  No formal charges were ever filed against him. 
Ndarborlor was appointed by the Liberia Council of Churches to serve 
as a member of the Special Committee set up to review and analyze 
the TRC Final Report.  He is a member of the Kissi ethnic group. 
 
 
JACQUELINE M. CAPEHART-CONTO (Independent Candidate) was a founding 
member of the Congress for Democratic Change before resigning over 
policy differences and joining the Unity Party in 2007.  She owns 
and runs the Jackie Travel and Airline Agency in Monrovia.  She has 
pressed for Liberian businesses to be protected from competition 
from foreigners, notably among them travel agencies.  She holds a 
bachelors degree in Public Administration from the University of 
Liberia. 
 
NATHANIEL TOE (Independent Candidate) is a founding member of the 
Liberty Party and served as the party's Secretary General before 
being expelled.  Toe served as Chairman of the Maryland Development 
Association and was also Regional Director of the United Methodist 
Human Rights Monitor as head of its southeastern chapter.  He holds 
a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Liberia. 
 
DANIEL JOHNSON (Independent Candidate) came to the limelight through 
the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia warring faction 
led by current Nimba County Senator Prince Y. Johnson.  Daniel 
Johnson, who is no relation to Prince Johnson, served as an advisor 
to the warlord.  He briefly served as mayor of Monrovia.  Johnson 
also lived in the United States before returning to become head of 
the Monrovia City Council.  He was a member of the Congress for 
Democratic Change but resigned from the party over policy 
differences. 
 
GRACE M. KPAN (Independent Candidate) is President of the Dock 
Workers' Union of Liberia.  She also served as Deputy Managing 
Director of the National Port Authority under the National 
Transitional Government of Liberia.  Kpan is known for her 
unwavering advocacy of labor rights. 
 
THOMAS-GREENFIELD