The reform of the Haitian Constitution promoted by the country’s president, Jovenel Moise, proposes the elimination of the Senate and the position of prime minister, among other points made known this Friday by the Advisory Committee appointed by the president for the revision of the Magna Carta.
The Haitian Parliament consists of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
The committee recommended, in a document, to establish the figure of the vice-president who will be elected by universal suffrage together with the president of the nation.
It also calls for the strengthening of the scope of control of the executive’s action and for the introduction of deadlines for voting on laws and ratifying appointments, treaties, conventions and international agreements.
With regard to the judiciary, the bill provides for the replacement of the government commissioner by the prosecutor general, the strengthening of the independence of magistrates and the creation of two jurisdictions, the highest court of which would be the Court of Cassation.
The document proposes, on the economic side, the creation of an “independent competition authority that will be responsible for contributing to the organization and regulation of the public and private economic sector”.
The project announces “reducing the age of access to elective positions to 25”.
It also suggests that at least 35% of public positions are held by women.
The Commission also proposes the recognition of multinationality, equal access for all Haitians to all the positions listed in the Constitution and the possibility for all people of Haitian origin to support this nationality even after several generations.
Moses, pressured by street protests on January 15 by opposition sectors demanding his departure on February 7, reiterated that he will not step down because, he says, he has been elected for a five-year term expiring in 2022. .
The Caribbean head of state wants the Constitution to be put to a referendum next April, ahead of the presidential and legislative elections scheduled for September 19, as announced earlier this year by the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP).
The official calendar of the CEP states that the second round of the presidential and legislative elections will take place on November 21, the date on which the municipal and local elections will also take place.
Several Haitian unions called a general strike yesterday for February 1 and 2 to demand the resignation of Moses and to protest against growing insecurity in the country.
The sectors that started this movement are the Human Rights Advocates, the Union Anti-Corruption Brigade (BSAC), the United Movement of Haitian Workers (MUTH) and the National Workers’ Center.
These groups have the support of dozens of other groups, including opposition parties, transport drivers ‘unions, teachers’ unions and human rights organizations.