Election - Haiti Observer Blog

President Martelly went on the attack last week when he heard Parliament had nominated Nehemie Joseph to be on the provisional electoral council. Parliament feels Joseph, who formerly sat on the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, will best support the electoral council's mission: to run a fair, transparent, and impartial tabulation of voter ballots on Election Day.

No one knows what makes Martelly challenge Joseph's nomination. All Martelly says is a conspiracy to undermine his administration is the reason behind the nomination. Martelly and his advisor, Joseph Lambert, say Parliament's unacceptable choice of Joseph is reason enough to keep the unsavory Josue Pierre-Louis on the electoral council.

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Haiti President Michel Martelly inducted Jacques Letang, President of the Bar of Coteaux, as the newly-appointed Representative of the Bars Federation of Haiti (FBH). He will provide legal counsel to the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ), in place of Nehemy Joseph, who recently resigned.

Letang, also Vice President of the Bar Federation of Haiti, has a double Masters of Law degree, issued by the Université Catholique of Lyon. After earning his advanced law degrees, he has held the office of Magistrate, recently becoming a partner in newly-established law firm, Avocats & Avocats LP, International Lawyers Group.

At the swearing-in ceremony, those in attendance included presidents of Parliament's upper and lower houses, Simon Dieuseul Desras, and Jean Tolbert Alexis; Minister of Justice, Jean Renel Sanon, and CSPJ President, Me Arnel Alexis Joseph.

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Electoral crisis has plagued Haiti recently and President Michel Martelly was held responsible for this crisis by the Human Rights Organization during a joint press conference held 6th March 2013. President Martelly was condemned of Supreme Council of the Judiciary for manipulating the Chief Justice, Alexis Joseph. This denouncement came from heads of organizations like National Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, National Network for the Defense of Human Rights and Platform for Haitian Human Rights.

Chief Justice Joseph did prove that he was manipulated by the Martelly administration but his legitimacy is questioned because of his age. The Human Rights Organization asked the President to cancel the August 15, 2012 decree that appointed the electoral council's 6 members as it was against Haitian Constitution that required 9 members.

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The Haitian parliament has finally fixed their choice by providing its three names to represent them at the electoral council in Port-au-Prince. The three individuals are comprised of two men: Nehemie Joseph and Pierre Simon Georges, with one woman, Mary Clunie Dumay.

This announcement was made by the Vice-President of the Senate, Senator Andris Riche on a Radio station

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Campaign season in Haiti is nearly always tense, with bi-partisan supporters of each party undercutting one other to get their candidate into office. A U.S. Department of Justice observer, who conducts immigration reviews for foreigners seeking refuge in the U.S., views the problem as two-fold.

First, voter-initiated fraud is driven by absence of a civil-service system, in which citizens can serve their communities in different capacities. Such positions are non-political and confer job stability. Not only is there job security, but also assurance of rising to higher levels of responsibility with commensurate pay.

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Throughout the history of Haiti, only a few political parties have had a strong organizational structure. In the 1870s and the 1880s, the Liberal Party and the National Party were the two dominant political parties in Haiti reflecting the social and class division that exists in the country. On one side, you see the Liberals party composed mainly of the wealthier and better-educated mulatto minority in Haiti. On the other hand, the Nationalists Party, made mainly of the lower-and middle-class black majority.

Following the United States occupation (1915-34), the nationalist parties organized around the issue of resistance to foreign occupation. The political parties in Haiti started multiplying during the presidential campaign of 1946. Many candidates were participating, including: Parti Socialiste (PSP), Parti Democrate Unifi (PDU), Mouvement Ouvrier Paysan (MOP) and many more. During the Duvalier reign, most political leaders had been silenced.

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Despite the changing gender roles and the growing feminist movement, female presidents or heads of state are quite rare in Haiti. One of these very few powerful women in history is former Haitian president Ertha Pascal-Trouillot. Politics has always been said to be meant for males as power and control are often associated with being a man. But as time went by, women began competing with this notion and have been made leaders and politicians along with men.

Pascal-Trouillot was born in a suburb of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince in 1943. Her father was an iron worker while her mother was a seamstress and was the ninth child of their ten children. The future president acquired a law degree from the prestigious École de Droit des Gonaives and was a judge for federal courts for more than ten years. She then became the first woman justice of the country's Supreme Court. And in 1990, Pascal-Trouillot was proclaimed as Haiti's temporary president after the successful revolt against former president Prosper Avril which put him out of office.

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United States President Barack Obama's recent re-election has been welcomed by the Haitian government. President Michel Martelly congratulated Obama, who defeated Republican Mitt Romney. Martelly wished Obama the best of luck in running the United States for the second term. He also expressed hope that the two countries would continue their strong ties and that bilateral cooperation would strengthen even more.

Haiti is seen as one of the Caribbean nations that were probably relieved by Obama's victory. However, Interior Minister Rosnard Saint-Cyr said before the U.S. election that whoever wins the race does not really matter because the U.S. policy towards Haiti will not change. This was somehow opposed by some critics who believe that an Obama victory would be better for Haiti than a Romney leadership.

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Election night is one of the most important events in a country. Every news show is covering the night, as reporters scatter around and get the facts right. For a reporter, covering the election night is both exciting and intimidating because all eyes and ears will be on you. There's no room for mistakes and you have to be updated as much as possible. Otherwise, you will appear incompetent and no one would want to pay attention to your report. Here is a short guide to help you do your job excellently during the much-awaited election night.

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Leon Manus, former President of the CEP died on Friday, October 26, 2012 in New Hampshire in United states. This news really revived a period in Haiti of significant importance.

Do you remember that in turn of this century, Leon Manus fled to the United States while he was in charge of CEP in Haiti. He feared for his life after he did not agree to approve results of a contested legislative and local elections.

Publication of the results of the May 21 election has been delayed, with opposition parties charging that the voting and the count were fixed to ensure a huge victory for the Lavalas Family party of the country's former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

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