2011 Amended Constitution - Haiti Observer Blog

The government of Haiti GOH) has passed almost as many constitutions as it has survived coup d'etats. Haiti's current Constitution, passed in 2012, is the 23rd one written into law.

The first Constitution of Saint-Domingue in 1801 appointed General Toussaint L'Ouverture as ruler for life. It also put an end to slavery, democratized hiring practices, and prohibited all religions except Catholicism. The 1805 Constitution allowed all forms of religious faith and approved reverse-race discrimination, calling all citizens black. The 1807 Constitution removed the reverse-race discrimination clause.

In 1816, the 1806 Constitution was revived, declaring President Alexandre Pétion President for Life. It also gave him unilateral power over Parliament. But under Jean-Baptiste Riché, the 1816 Constitution was put into effect again.

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Haiti's amended 1987 Constitution has stirred up debate on the practice of voodoo. Its origins are traceable to African slaves, transported to Haiti during its early history, and many of them from the Congo, brought voodoo religion.

In 1935, a Decree-Law banned voodoo ceremonies, including animal sacrifice to deities. For over a half-century, the Decree-Law stood until the 1987 Constitution annulled Article 297 of the Decree-Law. In another step, Haiti recognized voodoo as an accepted form of faith in 2003.

Recently, voodoo was abolished again by the newly amended 2011 Constitution, published by the Martelly administration. Voodooists, alarmed by struck-down Article 297 ". . . will have to use their own means to protect themselves from any attacks against them", according to priestess Euvonie Augustus.

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The Haiti Election results that put Mirlande Manigat and Jude Celestin in the lead to participate in the runoff election set protestation incidents all over Haiti. In Port-au-Prince, protesters set fire to the headquarter or the UNITE party, the political party of President Rene Preval and under which Jude Celestin is currently candidate.

It was reported that thousands of protesters rampaged divers neighborhoods in the capital. They set fire to the headquarter of the Unite party. We were able to see flames and smokes coming out of the facility before fire trucks arrived at the location and control the fire.

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