Thousands of people demonstrated in Haiti’s capital and several provincial capitals this Friday to ask President Jovenel Moise to “ respect ” the country’s constitution and leave power on February 7.
This is the first day of protests this year, within a calendar of protests called by the opposition to demand the immediate resignation of Moise.
The most massive concentration took place in Port-au-Prince, which was distributed with tear gas by police, while protesters threw stones in response.
Jovenel has to go. If he doesn’t leave, it’s civil disobedience, ”the protesters shouted, launching hostile slogans against the executive and accompanied at all times by a vehicle with loudspeakers looping anti-government songs.
Moise came to power for a five-year term on February 7, 2017, following a turbulent election that was annulled in 2015 on allegations of fraud and repeated in 2016.
Based on an article in the constitution, opponents say that because of this election rerun, Moise’s five years of mandate began to count in 2016, coinciding with the end of Michel Martelly’s presidency, and not 2017.
However, this interpretation of the Magna Carta is rejected by both the ruling party, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United States, who support Moise to stay in power for another year.
At the moment, the president is promoting the drafting of a new constitution, which is expected to be submitted to a referendum next April.
Presidential and parliamentary elections are set for September 19, and Moise assures him that he will not run for re-election, although the new constitution allows him to do so.
The legislatures were initially scheduled for 2019, but were delayed due to the political instability the country was experiencing at the time, leading to the parliament being closed in January 2020.
Since then, Moise has ruled by decree, which has fueled opposition discontent and even led to criticism from the international community, especially for a recent decree calling vandalism in the city “terrorism”. public road.
Haiti has been living in a climate of political instability since mid-2018, with ongoing protests that only subsided in the first months of the pandemic.