Haiti takes more steps to end political standoff-Added COMMENTARY By Haitian-Truth

By PIERRE-RICHARD LUXAMA

Associated PressDecember 15, 2014 Updated 3 hours ago

  • Haiti

Former Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe speaks during an interview with Associated Press in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Dec. 15, 2014. Lamothe resigned early Sunday. An independent commission had called for his resignation to end a standoff in the Senate that blocked legislation needed to hold parliamentary elections. DIEU NALIO CHERY — AP Photo

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti was in a state of political flux following the resignation over the weekend of the country’s prime minister because of an ongoing stalemate with opposition lawmakers in the Senate.

President Michel Martelly has not yet announced who he will nominate to replace Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe to run the government of the troubled country, and a presidential spokesman, Lucien Juras, declined in a news conference Monday to name the candidates.

Juras did say, however, that Martelly was addressing the recommendations of an independent commission created by the president to end the impasse over delayed legislative elections.

The recommendations he was carrying out included seeking the resignation of the nine members of the country’s electoral council and the release of prisoners who government opponents have said were improperly jailed for political reasons, an allegation the president denies.

Martelly said late last week that he accepted the recommendations of the commission, which include the resignation of Lamothe, who announced he was stepping down early Sunday.

“I made the ultimate sacrifice for the country to move forward and to respect the findings of an independent commission set up by president,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I always said I would be part of the solution to the problem and not part of the problem itself and I kept my word.”

Lamothe predicted it would be difficult to win approval from the Senate and Chamber of Deputies for his replacement, noting that it typically takes about 90 days to approve a prime minister and Cabinet in the politically fractious country.

Lamothe said his 31-month tenure was actually the longest for a prime minister in Haiti and said the country had made significant gains, particularly considering the devastation of the January 2010 earthquake that destroyed much of the capital.

Foreign investment and school enrollment both increased, security has improved and most of the encampments that sprung up for the hundreds of thousands left homeless by the earthquake are now gone.

“The results are there and they are undeniable,” he said.

But it was the political standoff with parliament that led to his resignation. Martelly was supposed to call elections in 2011 for a majority of Senate seats, the entire Chamber of Deputies and local offices.

But several opposition senators used parliamentary procedure to prevent a vote authorizing the election while orchestrating a series of protests in the capital to call for the president to resign. Another protest was planned for Tuesday despite the resignation of Lamothe and release of some prisoners jailed during the demonstrations.

“We are not making progress with Martelly. He has to resign,” said Andre Michel, the leader of one of the parties that make up the opposition, who has accused the president of trying to stack the electoral council with supporters and undermine the Constitution.

On Jan. 12, the terms of the current Senate will expire and the president can sign a decree that will enable the country to hold the elections in the first half of the year, Lamothe said.

Martelly is to leave office in 2016 after a presidential election scheduled for later next year.

The departing prime minister said he has no plans to run for president of Haiti.

“I gave it my soul,” he said. “I gave everything I had to move this country forward and I hope the people realize that and I hope that I was able to make a small difference in Haiti’s progress.”

Associated Press writer Ben Fox in Miami contributed to this report.

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Martelly has effectively shot himself in the foot and will be lucky to survive into the New Year.

The problems, surrounding his brother-in-law Kiko St. Remy and the DEA’s move to arrest him somehow saw President Martelly thinking he could solve this problem by dumping his best friend, business partner, and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe. This he did in spite of a local and international outcry against abandoning a winning  PM.

Without Lamothe, President Martelly is doomed. It is only a matter of time.

Then Haiti will be inflicted with another of those criminally inefficient provisional government, probably headed by someone like Moo Manigat or the Aristide guy, Senate President Desras. The cocaine dealers will be happy with him since he is a member of the club.

Instead of being remembered as a bridge to stability and a break from Lavalas – Martelly may well be remembered as the guy who returned Haiti to the hands of Lavalas.

Haiti has no luck.

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6 thoughts on “Haiti takes more steps to end political standoff-Added COMMENTARY By Haitian-Truth

  1. Martelly can always return to the life of a performer.
    Imagine what foolishness Wyclef would have inflicted on the Nation. Terrifying that the youth are so reckless in who they support.

  2. Even When Lamothe is not willing to run for President , the Haitian People Have the Historical Obligation to Draft Him for the Sake and Wellbeing of an impoverished Country. The Guy is Young, Talented and Dynamic. Why Should Haiti Loose such an Enlightened Mind. The Haitian Poor, Middle Class and Entrepreneurs need You. We should Stop Projecting that Image of Mediocrity. He has done in two Years what the “Opposition” including Lavalas couldn’t do in a Quarter of a Century. Haiti Wake Up!

  3. Aristide! Lavalas! Watch out! They are Baaaaaaaack. Remember Father & Son, Now is Jeb Bush Turn. You can Run But you can’t Hide. It’s Over …

  4. Marc, you are correct but most people in HAITI With The Lack Of Electricity And Access To social Media, Doesn’t Know What Is going on. This movement has to be turned on by the Haitian diaspora. Haitian-truth.org, Lavalas is losing. this is it come January 12 2015. We can’t give up. Haiti is too close. We can’t hand it back. Everyone with connections should be starting a movement. One that will also hit the streets of Haiti in support of Lamothe and the refusal of Martelly’s resignation. Thousands have took the the Web but most of Haiti is still clueless. We need to hit the airwaves. We need a movement before it is too late. We need to hit the streets of Haiti all in pink. Thanks again for great and professional information Haitian-truth

  5. Mark
    What crack are you smoking? what talent does Lamothe Have. how dynamic is a guy that walks around wearing pink shirts and bracelets as a sign of blind allegiance to Mickey,while complete failing to meet the needs the State. Lamothe is mediocrity, he ran a a very corrupt regime that saw of opportunity to effect the structural changes needed to bring about an efficient state. He and Mickey sought to grab more power then the people were willing to give them. in the end, he and Mickey made the same mistake that Aristide made in trying to claim dictatorial power. Preval also sought to hold on to power by trying to force Jude Celestin down the throat of the people. All of them have a profound disrespect for the Haitian people.

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