political party - Haiti Observer Blog

There is no doubt that several factions of the Lavalas movement were present in force at the National Palace for the inauguration of Jocelerme Privert as Haiti new Provisional President. The event was marked by the presence of the current Fanmi Lavalas presidential candidate Maryse Narcisse and Aristide 's own wife, Mildred Aristide. Some people said that Jean Bertrand Aristide had deployed his heaviest weapon in a show of force.

Ores Nixon who is a Fanmi lavalas activist in the street was also present during the inauguration of Jocelerme Privert. According to Ores, "The last time I came to the palace was in 2003 when President Aristide was in power, now look at me, inside the national palace with a glass of champagne, celebrating the inauguration of our President Jocelerme Privert"

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"Vérité", a political party of the former President René Préval, has placed itself among the complainants to object the candidacy of the First Haitian Lady Sophia Saint Remy Martelly, for the Senate of the Haitian Republic. President Preval is an experienced politician who had confronted a number difficult situations and he is the only president in the country who has completed two terms as the President of the nation. Even there were some instances in the past when President Martelly sought advice from him. This news of filing Preval's objection was revealed by a Le Matin journalist, Walter Cameau.

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On Monday, April 13, 2015, the political actors in Haiti have accused President Martelly on charges of setting up over 66 political parties out of the total 165 parties registered for the forthcoming election.

The accusation came when the Prime Ministry is trying to reduce the number of contending political parties in the election and the President and the Minister of Justice Pierre-Richard Casimir were busy in meeting the Heads of some compassionate countries like Brazil, Venezuela and others to fund the massive coming election (expected budget between $50 and 60 million, the most expensive ever in Haiti). During the discussions, the Head of States have expressed their concerns to fund the coming electoral process. According to an amendment with support from the former President Preval, political parties taking part in the election will be supported from a fund earmarked for the contests.

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The National Union party, founded under the dictatorship of Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier, is set to potentially take part in the next elections in Haiti. Papa Doc presided over a tough regime that allegedly crushed political opposition and dissent through the private militia force - the Tonton Macoutes. He passed away in 1971 and was succeeded by his son Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier who, at 19, became the youngest leader in the world at the time.

Baby Doc proceeded to rule Haiti as 'president for life' until ousted by a political coup in 1986. His lawyers have continued to refute allegations of human rights abuses and embezzlement allegedly committed during his period of rule. Despite this dark cloud of allegations, and much to the dismay of human rights campaigners, Baby Doc is free to roam. Since his surprise return in 2011, he has been spotted in restaurants, socialising with associates and is even occasionally met by groups of applauding supporters waving the red and black flag of the National Union party.

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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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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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Is the popular and famous slogan "Tet Kale" that contributed to the election of Michel Martelly is now turning against him? One might think so if you have been listening to the opposition lately. Michel Martelly had so much success with the slogan "Tet Kale", he recently made the decision to form a new political party named "Tet kale"

One thing I am sure Michel Martelly did not think about in selecting the popular slogan "Tet Kale", is how easy it would be to turn it to a critic against his own government.

Maybe the opposition should thank the Haitian Creole language for its various abilities, one of which is the ability to completely the meaning of words by just switching their position. The slogan "Tet Kale" has been working so well for Michel Martelly, that is until people started calling it a government of "Kale Tet".

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Repons Peyizan (RP), a citizens' progressive political-policy group, is preparing for legislative and local elections to happen sometime in 2013. They have appointed new members of the National Coordination (NC) and Executive Committees (EC). NC Coordinator, Fednel Monchery, retained his office, while Henry Èliahou Patrick and Philippe Pierre Giordany won Deputy Coordinator and Executive Secretary positions. EC elected a new Secretary, Francis Thézé and new members Robenson Bléhus, Wilson Bernier, Mirlène Duval, and Nativita Désinor.

EC Secretary Thézé acknowledged EC would be at the Permanent Electoral Council headquarters and local precincts to monitor the ballot-counting to ensure free, fair, and transparent results. RP has ten incumbent senators vying for re-election at the national level.

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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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Is this a sign of what the year 2013 is going to be for former Haitian president Jean Bertrand?

The former president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand is scheduled to appear in front of the Prosecutor of the Civil Court of Port-au-Prince this January 3, 2013 to answer two separate complaints. The Fanmi lavalas leader is going to be buzy as he will deal with a group of former students of his social work "La Fanmi Se Lavi" as well as his alleged responsibility in bankruptcy for the fraudulent financial cooperatives in 2002 and 2003.

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