Hundreds of Haitians took to the streets of various cities across the country this Sunday to demand that President Jovenel Moise leave power on February 7, the date his term is said to end.
In the capital Port-au-Prince, but also in the cities of Petit-Goave, Mirebalais, Verretes and in St-Marc, protesters set up barricades and threw stones everywhere, on the first day of a week of protest that it ends at 7 February, when Moise’s term is four years old.
At least one protester was shot in the capital in an incident that has not yet been clarified and for which police are accused.
THE OPPOSITION ENCOURAGES THE PROTESTS
In the capital, protesters responded to calls from various opposition parties and organizations, including the Pitit Dessalines Political Party, led by former presidential candidate Jean Charles Moise.
“People of Haiti, are not going home. Mobilize until the departure of Jovenel Moise on February 7,” said Jean Charles Moise at the end of the demonstration on the Champ de Mars, where the demonstration in Port-au-Prince is not far from the National Palace.
The protesters demanded that article 134-2 of the 1987 constitution be respected.
Moise took power on February 7, 2017 for a five-year term, so according to his accounts, he will maintain leadership of the state until 2022, for which he will receive the support of the Organization of American States (OAS), States-States and other countries.
However, the opposition argues that Moise’s term of office will expire in February 2021 because the aforementioned article of the constitution provides for an early start of the presidential term if there are problems with vote counting in elections.
They believe that this article applies to this case because of what happened to the 2015 election, which was annulled on allegations of fraud and repeated in 2016.
POLITICAL AGREEMENT AND CALL FOR A STRIKE
Simultaneously with the demonstrations, several opposition groups announced that they had reached an agreement on the “transition” after Moise, and that they were considering putting a judge of the Supreme Court of Cassation in charge of the country.
The only party that did not join was Fanmi Lavalas, of former president Jean Bertrand Aristide, who, according to some media, is not in favor of a judge taking power in a possible transitional government.
Meanwhile, dozens of unions, organizations and associations called for a general strike tomorrow and Tuesday, which could be extended depending on the results.
The days leading up to February 7 are expected to be tense due to the intensification of the announced protest movements, while it is noted that many people have left the capital to move to other cities and to the Dominican Republic, a country bordering Haiti.
Likewise, many schools have been temporarily closed due to announced activities against Moise, who reiterated this week that he will not leave power on February 7, as demanded by the opposition, which has been intensifying protests against the government for months.
The presidential term is five years in Haiti, meaning “Jovenel Moise’s term ends on February 7, 2022,” the president said in a speech via Facebook.
A NEW CONSTITUTION
Amid political uncertainty, Moise is promoting a constitutional reform, which he expects to be put to a referendum in April, ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for September 19.
The reform proposes the abolition of the Senate and the position of Prime Minister, announced this Friday, among other things, by the Advisory Committee appointed by the president to review the Magna Carta.
Since July 2018, Haiti has been facing an unprecedented socio-political and economic crisis with demonstrations, some of which have been violent, and repeated calls for the president’s resignation from various sectors of civil society.