Time for a small lesson in Haitian Constitutional Law. One wonders how criminals were accepted as candidates is the previous election. How did criminals, such as Arnel Belizaire and Moise Jean-Charles get past the CEP?
The answer is a simple one: PREVAL.
Rene Preval subverted the value of the Constitution by planting his criminal stooges within the parliamentary apparatus, to act as time-bombs, after he left office. Moise Jean-Charles and Arnel Belizaire, plus others, are doing this, attempting to create an instability that keeps Martely’s focus of real problems and forces him and Lamothe to deal with the Parliamentary turbulence on a daily basis.
Here are the pertinent articles from the Constitution.
Article 91 should have barred criminals from getting on the ballot, even as a lot of valuable time and money was expended upon stupid, and futile attempts to prove Haitian citizens were citizens of somewhere else, when they weren’t. One would think it is better to have a Haitian/American or Haitian/Canadian, on the ballot, than a murderer, thief or cocaine trafficker… But this is Haiti. American and Canadians are unacceptable while murderers, thieves and drug traffickers are family.
ARTICLE 91:
To be elected a member of the House of Deputies, a person must:
1. Be a native Haitian and have never renounced his nationality;
2. Have attained twenty-five (25) years of age;
3. Enjoy civil and political rights and never have been sentenced to death, personal restraint or penal servitude or the loss of civil rights for any crime of ordinary law;
4. Have resided at least two (2) consecutive years prior to the date of the elections in the electoral district he is to represent;
5. Own at least one real property in the district and practice a profession or trade;
6. Have been relieved, if need be, of his responsibilities as a manager of public funds.
ARTICLE 113:
Any member of the Legislature shall be disqualified as a Deputy or Senator, if, during his term, he has received a final sentence by a court of regular law, which renders him ineligible to serve.
ARTICLE 115:
No member of the Legislature may during his term be arrested under ordinary law for a crime, a minor offense or a petty violation, except by authorization of the House of which he is a member, unless he is apprehended in the act of committing an offense punishable by death, personal restraint or penal servitude or the loss of civil rights. In that case, the matter is referred to the House of Deputies or the Senate without delay of the Legislature is in session, and if not, it shall be taken up the next regular or special session.