April 12, 2021
With the departure of Jean Claude Duvalier, in February, 1986, the Nation looked for a new Constitution when, in fact, they could have retained the Duvalier Constitution, minus the President for Life Article.
A commission of 41 people sat down to create a new Constitution, and what resulted followed the Camel Concept. Each person pressed to have their own varied concepts included. And there was a rush to deny participation to anyone involved with the Duvalier Presidencies. A special Article was included that, if applied today, without reference to Duvalier, would knock most active political figures out of the game.
Article 291 effectively disenfranchised a large segment of Haiti’s population, over and above those accused of crimes.
ARTICLE 291:
For ten (10) years following publication of this Constitution, and without prejudice to any criminal action or civil suit for damages, none of the following may be candidates for any public office;
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Any person well known for having been by his excess zeal one of the architects of the dictatorship and of its maintenance during the last twenty-nine (29) years;
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Any accountant of public funds during the years of the dictatorship concerning whom there is presumptive evidence of unjustified again;
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Any person denounced by public outcry for having inflicted torture on political prisoners or for having committed political assassinations.