By Richard Valdmanis
MONROVIA (Reuters) - Former rebel leader Prince Johnson, who was filmed watching his fighters torture former President Samuel Doe during Liberia's civil war, is on course to become a kingmaker in its election and says he plans to cash in on that role.
The prospect of a former fighter deciding the outcome of the election could prove unpalatable for international partners, who are eager to see Liberia close the book on a 14-year conflict that killed nearly 250,000 people and ruined its infrastructure.
"You can't be the kingmaker and then not have a part to play. You have to be a part of the government in a strategic area that will help take the system where it should go," Johnson told Reuters in an interview in the shade of a gazebo on his compound in the capital Monrovia.
"We will make sure that we come up with a political arrangement to provide us with some ministries of substance to our people," he said.
Now a senator in Liberia's northern, minerals-rich Nimba County, the second most populous in the West African state, Johnson has captured nearly 14 percent of the ballots counted so far in an October 11 vote.
That puts him in third place behind incumbent Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf with 44.5 percent and her main rival Winston Tubman with 26.5 percent. Unless a candidate wins an outright majority, there will be a run-off in early November -- and an endorsement from Johnson could mean victory.
Johnson, wearing a traditional red cap and gown, said he had not made a decision on whether to support Sirleaf or Tubman, and would consult his constituents before choosing.
But he added that decision would involve heavy negotiations with the run-off rivals.
"In time past, ruling parties have always put their people in charge of those areas that generate revenue, much money -- finance, maritime, mines, commerce --they always want to take that to empower their own people," he said.
Analysts have said that Johnson, a former member of Sirleaf's ruling UP party, is most likely to side with the incumbent because her international profile could help him to consolidate a legacy as a revolutionary-turned-politician.
Sirleaf, a former World Bank economist who has earned international plaudits for maintaining stability and reducing debt in Liberia since becoming Africa's first freely elected female head of state in 2005, was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week.
"I'm not close to anyone in particular," Johnson said when asked which of the two main presidential challengers he felt more closely aligned to. "I'll be close to anyone who will be nationalistic and patriotic."
REVENUES FROM RESOURCES
Nimba County hosts world-class reserves of iron ore, gold and diamonds that are reopening to investors after being sealed off for decades by the bloodshed. Companies like ArcelorMittal and BHP Billiton are already active in the area.
Johnson complained that Liberia's resources had been poorly managed for a century and said he would use his position as kingmaker to negotiate for a restructuring of resource revenue management in which counties would retain 40 percent of state proceeds from mining and agriculture production.
"That way development would be competitive and rapid, instead of centralization of the economy and the centralization of power as has been the case over the centuries," he said.
Johnson said any foreign concerns over him emerging from the polls with significant power were unfounded and due to misunderstandings over his legacy. "When people talk about warlords, I always ask: 'What is the meaning of warlord?'"
"Because you fought for liberation? Can we say the Americans who fought in the American Civil War are warlords? In Libya, can you call those revolutionaries warlords?"
When asked about a widely circulated video showing Johnson sipping beer while watching his fighters mutilate Doe after his capture, Johnson said the clip was "unfortunate."
"We are remorseful. I am a civil servant to my people, I am senator, I am a humanitarian ... and I am a changed person."
(Additional reporting by Alphonso Toweh; Editing by David Lewis and Mark Heinrich)