By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Sept. 28, 2021: Just like he fired a judge who called him in for questioning over the murder of President Jovenel Moise, Haiti’s de facto prime minister has now dismissed the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP).
Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry dismissal of members of the CEP, throws into doubt the planned constitutional referendum and elections in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
The elections and referendum had already been postponed twice due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and now the assassination and earthquake of the past two months.
The news comes as Sonia Guzmán, the Dominican Republic’s ambassador to the United States, told the Washington Diplomat in an interview that its seems the US has put Haiti and Latin America on the back burner again.
The CEP was appointed on September 18, 2022, by the then president Moise, who was assassinated on July 7th this year. The nine-member CEP) had been strongly criticized by the opposition and the public.
But after developing several electoral calendars, the CEP set the first round of voting in presidential and legislative elections, as well as for a constitutional referendum, for November 7th, with the second round of voting scheduled for January 23, 2022, in conjunction with municipal and local elections.
However, in a decree published Monday announcing the CEP members had been dismissed, Henry, gave no deadline as to when the new CEP would be named. Haiti’s parliament has been devoid of members since January 2020, and only 10 of the 30 senators are still in office, with their terms ending in January 2023.
“US policymakers tend to forget that it exists,” she said, referring to the Latin American region. “They take for granted that you’re a friend, that you don’t need help. But friendship is like a rose. You have to water it, take care of it and give it some love. That’s the kind of friendship we want with the United States.”
