The Haitian opposition demands the resignation of the president of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, and to call legislative elections to reactivate the Parliament that has been dissolved for a year.
The elections were initially scheduled for October 2019, but were suspended due to protests that caused the closure of schools, businesses and government offices for several weeks.
“The priority right now is to start another economic, social and political system. It is clear that Moïse is clinging to power, ”said André Michel, a member of the opposition coalition of the Democratic and Popular Sector.
They are also demanding legislative elections to reactivate the Parliament that has been dissolved for a year. Opponents say that the five-year term of the Haitian ruler is legally over, since it began when that of former President Michel Martelly expired in February 2016.
The President alleges that he began his presidential term in 2017, when he assumed power in a delayed swearing-in due to the chaotic electoral process that forced the appointment of an interim president for a year.
International sponsors from Haiti expressed the concerns of the opponents and demands for the holding of parliamentary elections as soon as possible. Meanwhile, part of the international community condemned several of the decrees of the current president.
A presidential decree considered that acts such as robbery, arson and roadblocks – common in protests – would be classified as terrorism and would be subject to severe penalties. In addition, the president created an intelligence agency that only answers to him. The Core Group, made up of officials from the United Nations, the United States, France and Canada, questioned these initiatives.
The Haitian president rejected these statements. He posted on his twitter account that he will call a constitutional referendum in April and parliamentary and presidential elections in September.
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