VZCZCXRO6518
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHMV #0198/01 0490925
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 180923Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY MONROVIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0064
INFO ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

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