Thomas Shannon in Haiti to find solution to the political crisis

Thomas A. Shannon, Counselor to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Haiti on October 30, 2014. During his trip, discussions were focused on U.S. - Haiti cooperation with an emphasis and U.S. support for timely elections in Haiti. He visited the Senate of the Republic of Haiti accompanying Pamela White, the US Ambassador to Haiti and Special Coordinator for Haiti Thomas C. Adams.

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Ambassador Shannon is one of U.S's leading experts to handle political stalemates causing delays in balloting.

According to the statement of Haitian Senator John Joel Joseph, this was a courtesy visit as the U.S. seems to be worried about the recent political situation in Haiti. The U.S. delegation visited Haiti to get some information to determine probable courses of actions for avoiding every political crisis in a situation without a Senate if the country fails to hold the coming election before the second Monday of January 2015.

Incidentally, his date of the visit comes exactly three years and four days later from the day Haiti was first supposed to hold this election. On Sunday, October 26, the Haitian President Martelly announced the postponement of the election without mentioning a new date. His announcement of deferment created an uproar and thousands of angry would-be electors came out to the streets of Port-au-Prince aligned with opposition groups and demanded holding of elections. It is interesting to note that both the Haitian government and opposition groups are blaming each other for the delayed balloting. A group of six senators has refused to endorse an electoral law renouncing it as unconstitutional that favors the Martelly government. Earlier, as a member of the National Security Council, Ambassador Shannon has worked on several Haitian issues. He acted as the Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere with overall responsibilities of the region. Haiti Special Coordinator Thomas Adams raised further issues and had discussions on subjects related to post-earthquake reconstruction and the professionalization of the Haiti National Police.

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