Sunday, May 09, 2010

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – President René Préval says he plans to do everything in his power to ensure that general elections are held in the earthquake-ravaged, French-speaking Caribbean country before he demits office next year.

The constitutional deadline for the elections is February 7, 2011, but the massive earthquake on January 12 destroyed a number of government buildings and killed an estimated 300,000 people including many public servants.

“I will fight for elections to happen when they are supposed to. If the election results are given before February 7, René Préval will leave February 7, 2011, but René Préval will not take responsibility to show he is irresponsible,” he told reporters, warning that failure to hold the polls could trigger a new “political earthquake”.

Préval said while the Haitian constitution states that the president must depart office on February 7, 2011, it also indicates that the president must serve five years.

Because of delays and controversy in the 2006 presidential elections, Préval did not take office until May 14, 2006, but he said he had no plans to stay beyond May 14, 2011, which would be a violation of the constitution.

Opposition politicians have been calling for Préval to step down on February 7, saying that an interim government could organise the elections. They have accused Préval of reneging on a pledge to leave office on that date.

“Préval is showing he has a personal agenda, and it has nothing to do with the interest of the country,” said Evans Paul, an opposition political party leader.

After previously serving as president from 1995 to 2000, Préval was succeeded by former Roman Catholic priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was forced out of office in 2004 and now lives in exile in South Africa.
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COMMENT:HAITIAN-TRUTH.ORG

Preval’s existing government is unconstitutional.

Preval received about 23% of the vote in the 2006 election.  MUNUSTAH, headed by Chilean Juan Valdez,  supported by the Chilean and Brazilian military commanders…gave Preval 51% in order to avoid a run-off.

This was after Preval and Rene Momplaisir, leader of the Popular Organizations, met with them and promised to burn Port-au-Prince if they did not get the presidency. Momplaisir put his mob into the Montana Hotel, where MINUSTAH leaders lived. They ran through the halls and jumped into the swimming pool.

None of the other candidates were consulted.

Preval would have been defeated in a run-off.

This was a direct interference in Haiti’s sovereign affairs, by MINUSTAH.

Preval, and his associate Jacques Alexis, proceeded to buy Parliament. Money talks in Haiti. Preval immediately set out to modify the Constitution so that his group could stay in power forever. This Constitutional Coup is being used throughout Central and South America. It was recently tried in the Honduras, but failed.

There is absolutely no reason why elections cannot be held in November!!

Actually, there is one reason and that is PREVAL and the Electoral Council, owned totally by him. In the past the Electoral Council has been headed by Preval’s first cousin, and a mistress. Hardly unbiased!!

If Preval remains beyond February 7, 2011 in will be unconstitutional.

His word is worth absolutely nothing.

Preval must go – NOW!!

The nation needs a new independent Electoral Council.

The International Community must now make the money and resources available to have a free-and-fair ballot – something that has yet to happen in Haiti. Each election has been flawed, mostly be efforts of the International Community to meet its own, not Haiti’s agenda.

If this election is not held properly you might as well kiss the naïve effort to inflict Democracy on Haiti goodbye.