“We will take to the streets tomorrow, March 29th, to demand respect for Article 134-2 of the constitution. We must continue to mobilize.” André Michel, lawyer and spokesperson for the organization, said: “Let’s not give up!
The controversial article provides for a reduction in the presidential term if there are problems with counting the votes, which apply, according to an increasing number of social programs and opposition and religious sectors, in the 2015 elections, which were repeated the following year. The winner was businessman Jovenel Moïse.
On the other hand, the government’s reading was completely opposite, highlighting that the president was sworn in in 2017 for five years, a thesis shared by other organizations such as the United Nations and the Organization of American States, which calls for ‘democratic elections to renew political leadership.
The mobilization on Sunday also questioned Moise’s draft constitutional change, which, if approved, would amend the current parliamentary system to a presidential system, lead to the abolition of the Senate for a broad parliament, and restore political and sexual rights to the diaspora.
However, the plan raises severe criticism, because it does not have a minimum level of consensus among the political forces, after three years of repeated social and political crises, which were exacerbated by a lack of confidence in the government.
“This referendum is clowning because the crux of the Haitian problem is not a constitutional issue,” said Michel Bayan, former Minister of State for Persons with Disabilities, who participated in today’s protest.
He added that Haiti was currently experiencing more urgent problems, including the direction the nation could take. “A state without a judicial authority or legislative authority, where everything is limited to a president who rules by decree … This is sufficient to say that we are in a dictatorial situation,” he said.
M / ann
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