politic - Haiti Observer Blog

At the eleventh hour Haitian President Martelly sealed a deal with the opposition to hold electoral elections later in 2015. Extremist party Fanmi Lavalas was not present during the signing of the agreement. The agreement happened just hours before members of Parliament's terms were set to expire on January 12th.

Al Jazeera reporter, Gabriel Elizondo, was skeptical about the agreement, offering his opinion it "was a deal perhaps in name only". He added he thought Martelly had used the rest of his political capital in brokering a deal with some elements of the opposition, to calm the waters of recent nation-wide protests.

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On Wednesday, December 17, 2014, the Haitian President Michel Martelly met opposition leaders in a bid to end a stalemate over the delayed legislative elections. The meeting was about the responses to the recommendations of an independent commission established by the President established to end the deadlocks over delayed elections. Among other recommendations by the committee, the former Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe has already resigned on December 14, 2014, in the wake of widespread anti-government protests in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

As the term of the current Senate expires on January 12, Haiti may face an uncertain political future. Both the President and former Prime Minister Lamothe had blamed some legislators (Group of six) for blocking a vote that could lead to approve a much needed electoral law. Instead of approving the legislation, they are blocking it and at the same time orchestrating a series of large protests in the capital, calling for the president to resign for the delaying legislative elections. They are of opinion that the presidential draft of the Electoral Law was adopted without any respect for the Constitution or the legislative process.

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Under pressure from his countrymen and his allies around the world, Haiti's President Michel Martelly created a commission to come up with a solution to the current political mess, listened to their recommendations, and forced the Prime Minister to resign his post. These measures, however, have not appeased the opposition, who still demand Martelly's own resignation, using protest demonstrations as their main medium to get their view across.

The same commission called for the resignation of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) judges (citing they are the body responsible for elections and thus culpable for the delay), as well as that of Anel Alexis Jose, the president of the Supreme Council of Judicial Power. These demands have yet to be complied with, and the call is still going strong for the president to himself resign. Working against such an eventuality, President Martelly has already met with the CEP members who, reportedly, are ready to comply by tendering letters of resignation. It cannot escape notice that the deadline for a holding of elections is close at hand. Past January 12, 2014, if one is not held, parliament will be dissolved and the current Head of State will rule by Presidential Decree. This has created significant impetus for the organizing of demonstrative crowds, a phenomena that is only likely to increase in frequency as the time looms ever nearer.

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Sometime, it is a good thing to listen to the opposing view. We might learn something, even from someone like Rush Limbaugh, a radio host in the United States who is well known for his conservative views.

Someone from Miami recently called his show to ask him a question about the double standard that exists in the American immigration law when it comes to Haitian immigrants.

CALLER: I'd like to know why Mr. Obama is granting amnesty to all the immigrants that came over here illegally. When the Cubans come here, if they make it to land, they get to stay. However, for the Haitians, whether or not they make it to land, they get sent back.

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On May 14, 2014, President Martelly completed three years of his first term in office, commemorating the occasion by announcing formation of his political party, Parti Haitien Tet Kale (PHTK). The establishment of PHTK took place at Champs de Mars Gymnasium, located in Cap-Haitien.

Martelly spoke before his cabinet and a large crowd of supporters from Nord Department. He emphasized the government of Haiti (GOH) is dedicated to improving the population's lives, and is now organizing for fair and free elections. Elections had been delayed, but with the signing of the anti-corruption bill, and U.S. Congress's certification the GOH is demonstrating democratic principles, the U.S. will fund the elections.

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Leaving out of the Saint-Jean Bosco Church in Port-au-Prince, a showing of many hundreds of Fanmi Lavalas supporters, dissidents of the current administration, rapidly took their march through the different famous zones, hoping to grow their numbers, and were finally joined by numerous executives and pioneers of Fanmi Lavalas.

Armed with pictures of former president of the republic, the exiled Jean Bertrand Aristide, they shouted censure at the corruption rife throughout the administration and the poor living state of the populace. The situation, they expressed, continues to crumble and political mistreatment continues. The group chanted uncongenial comments about the Haitian Head of State, and largely requested his acquiescence to resign and to hold general elections this year.

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The political landscape just changed, once again, for Haiti. It isn't the outing of an old regime and in with a new this time, however, but the addition of another political party to the fray. The new party was born out of the recent meeting of the Patriotic Movement of the Democratic Opposition (MOPOD).

When the group met in late January, it was to discuss the current situation of politics in the society and also to put themselves in an appropriate position in the inter-Haitian dialogue to take place between the civil society, the political parties and the executive. They ended up resolving to turn their movement, previously only a means of bringing together the main opposition parties of RDNP, PROP, OPL, and INITE, into a new political party in order to secure the resignation of the current regime of President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe.

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It seems that President Michel Martelly did not only talk about unity in Gonaives to celebrate the 210th anniversary of Haiti independence; he actually followed it with concrete action. By inviting the former Haitian leaders to join him in Gonaives, he actually became the "First" as he usually likes to say to show that he is inclined to bring unity among Haitians. He is the first to meet with so many former head of states, first to invite them to participate in an anniversary that should have been a point of unity among all Haitians.

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Eat your heart out, opposition! I am assuming that the Haitian President Michel Martelly is probably saying just that following the result of the poll taken by the PR firms, Newlink and Dagmar, showing that the president is enjoying a comfortable 80.5% rating among the population. This is historic since this actually put him as the president with the highest approval rating in the Western Hemisphere.

Now, I am totally confused.

Isn't it just recently that anti-government protests brought tens of thousands of people to the streets of Port-au-Prince? what about the recent success of the Lavalas party in putting thousands and thousands of people to protest against the Martelly government?

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Now here is a survey that is going to cause lots of disagreement among Haitians.According to Newlink Research, President Michel Martelly's approval rating went up to 80.5%.

Are you willing to convince the current opposition to the Martelly government that Haitian people are just in love with their president? What about Moise Jean-Charles? Does that mean he will never accomplish his goal which is to watch Martelly on his way out of the country; but this time for good?

Newlink-Dagmar surveyed a total of 1098 Haitians between December 11 and 17. The poll has a margin of error of +/-5 percent at the 90% confidence level.

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