Avellon Williams
PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI – Prime Minister Ariel Henry has pledged to execute the law to bring those responsible for the assassination of President Jovenel Moise to justice. He has also stated that a new president will not be elected on February 7.
At the invitation of the Senate Bureau, Henry met with eight of the ten senators on Tuesday evening to discuss the current situation and priorities, such as restoring security and conducting elections in the French-speaking Caribbean nation.
It is imperative that we continue to work together to pacify the country.” In addition, “the security forces are actively combating banditry,” Henry said.
In his remarks to the senators, he said that elections are a constitutional prerogative, adding, “We cannot wait to renew the political personnel.”.
Returning to democratic order is essential. A president must be elected to take the helm of the country. Creating a Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) would have been simple for me, but I do not want to act unilaterally or exclusively,” he said.
Ultimately, with the cooperation of all stakeholders, the consultation process will be finalized in days to come, according to Prime Minister Henry.
A new CEP and Constituent Assembly will be in place by February 7, he predicted, and the country will adopt a new Constitution this year.
“The country cannot wait any longer. The only way to end this chronic crisis is to reach a consensus around sustainable solutions. The elections must be organized so that we have newly elected officials. It is my firm belief that there will not be a new president on February 7, 2022,” Henry said.
Regarding president Jovenel Moise’s assassination on July 7 at his private residence, Henry said that he would do everything in his power to ensure that justice was done as long as he was head of state.
The investigation into this assassination will continue, he said, as he had promised upon arriving at the Primature.
On November 20, 2016, President Jovenel Moise won the election with 55.67 percent of the vote, with voter turnout estimated at 21 percent, defeating 26 other candidates, four of whom claimed victory.
Having been sworn in as president in February 2017, Moise, 53, faced political unrest in 2019 and calls for his resignation.
In the days leading up to his assassination, he was demanding he serves out the remainder of the year and was considering amending the Constitution to give himself more power.
Last year, Joseph Lambert, President of the Senate, suggested that Haitian dialogue should be declared during 2022 to bring the country out of its crisis.
“Today, the Republic of Haiti is deprived of the Chamber of Deputies and its Senate is reduced to a third of its original members, those members exercise their mandate which expires on the second Monday in January 2023,” Lambert said in an address to the Senate, which met for the first time in a year with just a handful of lawmakers present.
Due to failed legislative elections originally scheduled for October 2019 and repeatedly postponed, the Senate, which has 30 members, currently has only 10 senators.
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