LatinNews Daily - 07 January 2021 |
HAITI: Opposition slams OAS support for Moïse |
On 6 January Haitian opposition figures such as Paul Dénis, a former justice minister, criticised remarks made by Luis Almagro, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), in reference to the electoral process which President Jovenel Moïse has announced for this year. Analysis: Almagro yesterday tweeted that he had attended a “fruitful” meeting with Haiti’s foreign minister, Claude Joseph, regarding a “comprehensive electoral process in 2021”, which would result in the “peaceful transition of power the following year”. This followed remarks made by President Moïse in his 1 January state of the nation address that elections would take place this year, along with a referendum on the constitution. With legislative elections long overdue, and Moïse’s five-year term set to expire in 2022, the international community has repeatedly called for elections to take place. The opposition, however, is demanding that a transitional government oversee any electoral process, arguing that the deeply unpopular president lacks the legitimacy to preside over elections. Moi?se has been ruling by decree for the past year, following the lapse of legislators’ terms after elections failed to take place in October 2019, and the opposition rejects his intention of holding a referendum on the constitution, which is illegal.
Looking Ahead: Demands for Moïse to step down and for a transitional government to take over featured in the repeated anti-government protests which took place last year. These look set to continue: speaking on national TV on 5 January, opposition leader André Michel said that the public would again be called upon to “defend the constitution”. |