PORT-AU PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – Haiti has announced several proposed amendments to revamp the country’s constitution which officials plan to present to voters from this week for an upcoming referendum ahead of increasing unrest.
The public meetings are scheduled to take place over the next three weeks across Haiti ahead of the constitutional referendum on April 25, which would be the first in more than 30 years.
One of the biggest changes is the failure in the draft issued by an independent commission to create the constitutional changes that have sparked heated debates. The current Constitution of Haiti prohibits president from serving two consecutive terms, but the concept only stipulates that a president may not serve more than two terms; it says nothing about whether they can be served in succession.
Human rights lawyer Bill O’Neill told The Associated Press that his interpretation was that the failure would allow a president to serve two terms in a row. He noted that those who drafted the 1987 Constitution, which are currently in use, emerged from a 29-year dictatorship under two so-called “presidents for life”: François Duvalier and Jean-Claude Duvalier.
“The drafters were very careful not to allow anyone too much uninterrupted time in the presidency,” he said.
The new concept also eliminates the requirement for a Haitian president to live in the country for five consecutive years before the date of the general election. All it says is that one must have a ‘habitual residence in Haiti’, a change that enables the diaspora to offer the highest offices in Haiti, which is currently banned. The proposed change also applies to the position of vice president.
Other proposed amendments include compulsory military service for those aged 18, the creation of the position of vice-president to replace that of prime minister and the establishment of a unicameral legislature to be elected to the current Senate every five years. and to replace the Chamber of Deputies, which was largely dissolved. more than a year ago when President Jovenel Moïse began ruling with a decision following a lack of legislative elections.
Another change also requires lawmakers to be elected every five years to fit the presidential term, as some senators are currently elected every two to six years.
“It requires election on average every 18 months,” reads the document issued by the independent commission. “The difficulty of respecting this binding election agenda plunges the country into a chronic institutional crisis.”
Critics of the proposed changes say they see it as a power attack by Moses, who says he will retire in February 2022 when his five-year term ends. However, the opposition claims that his term began when former president Michel Martelly ended in February 2016, although Moïse was only sworn in until February 2017 after a chaotic election process that led to the appointment of a provisional president for one year. .
Alfredo Antoine, a former legislator, said that the changes at this stage are merely a proposal and that people have the right to study them. He also said that opposition leaders should try to establish a dialogue with Moses instead of arranging protest rallies, as they insist that he leave office by Sunday.
“They should not put oil on the fire,” he said.
Opposition leaders could not be reached for comment immediately.
Meanwhile, Brian Concannon, an adviser to the Institute of Justice and Democracy in Haiti, said the proposed referendum itself was unconstitutional under the current Constitution. It is also noted that an amendment can only take effect when the next president is installed, and that the current president under the government that approved the amendment could not benefit from it.
“Moses clearly ignores this important limitation,” he said.
As officials meet with certain sectors of society to discuss the proposed constitutional changes, some demand more inclusion. Ulrich Louisma, a 40-year-old air conditioner, said other people and officials, in addition to the president, should provide input on a new constitution.
“It can not be a one-man show,” he said.
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Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.