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Fears that President Michel Martelly’s weak presence in the legislature (with a mere three seats in the 99-member lower house and none in the 30-seat senate) would result in political stalemate are being borne out. Last month, parliament, which is controlled by a majority coalition – the Groupe des parlementaires pour le renouveau (GPR), the rump of which comprises Inité of Martelly’s predecessor René Préval (2006-2011)-, rejected Martelly’s choice of Daniel Rouzier as prime minister. This means that two months after taking office, Martelly is neither closer to forming a cabinet nor to getting his governance plan approved.
On 21 June deputies voted 42 to 19 to reject Rouzier, signifying the first time since the 1987 constitution came into effect that a recently invested President had his choice of prime minister thrown out by the legislature. Rouzier was a controversial choice given his links to the Duvalier regimes (1957-86) [RC-11-06] and reasons cited by the deputies ranged from a potential conflict of interest – Rouzier runs companies that have government contracts - to his failure to submit a passport as part of his documentation. While Martelly had taken pains to consult with the Inité leaders of both houses regarding the choice, his failure to offer key ministerial posts was reportedly a factor in his defeat [RC-11-06].
Yet Martelly’s second choice, Bernard Gousse, a lawyer and former justice minister (2004), is unlikely to fare any better. A divisive figure of the extreme Right, Gousse served for a year under the interim government of former Prime Minister Gérard Latortue (2004-2006) before quitting amid international media attention surrounding the prolonged imprisonment of Yvon Neptune, the prime minister of thrice former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide (1991, 1994-1996, 2001-2004). Gousse was also slammed by human rights groups for the tireless manner in which he pursued Aristide supporters. With the GPR already declaring the choice of Gousse “unacceptable”, local commentators have been left baffled as to Martelly’s motives. Some speculate that it could be a tactic to eventually re-appoint Préval’s former prime minister, Jean Max Bellerive, who is opposed by some in the Martelly camp. Bellerive and Jean-Henry Céant Renmen, a presidential candidate and Aristide ally, were the two other choices being discussed.
- Dual citizenship reversal
The show of intransigence by the legislature over the choice of prime minister was also attributed to Martelly’s decision to veto a law congress had approved (on 8 May) establishing that Haitians living overseas would henceforth be able to hold dual citizenship and vote in elections [RC-11-06]. Martelly insisted he supported the idea but maintained that the text approved by parliament differed from the one published in the official gazette.
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