US lawmakers say country remains gripped in cascade of economic, public health, political crises

The Organization of American States (OAS) is raising grave concerns about the political stalemate in Haiti.

In a statement on Tuesday (November 9), the OAS reported that its General Secretariat was “closely monitoring the current situation in Haiti”.

On Monday, Opposition parties in Haiti declared 72-year-old judge Joseph Mecene Jean-Louis as the country’s interim leader, a day after an alleged coup plot was foiled.

The Opposition parties insisted that President Jovenel Moise must step down.

In its statement, the OAS said it was particularly concerned about the respect for human rights and the independence of powers in the French-speaking Caribbean territory.

According to the statement, “the OAS General Secretariat has an essential interest in the protection of democratic institutions and the political rights of its citizens… . It is fundamental that state institutions work together to resolve the problems afflicting Haiti. We call for democratic structural changes in Haiti through the discussion of a new Constitution and an effective participation in general elections this year.”

The OAS General Secretariat has renewed its support for the country’s electoral process, which it declared is the only option consistent with the Democratic Charter to replace the current constitutional president with another president on February 7, 2022.

Moise, who has ruled by decree since mid-January, has already made it known that would not step down until his term expires in 2022.

The Haitian president promised he would hand over power to the winner of the constitutionally due 2022 national elections.

However, the Opposition parties have rejected Moise’s interpretation of the constitution and has insisted his term came to an end on Sunday. In a video message, Jean-Louis, the longest-serving judge on the Supreme Court, said he “accepted the choice of the opposition and civil society to serve (his) country as interim president for the transition”.

Opposition figure Andre Michel told international news agency AFP, “we are waiting for Jovenel Moise to leave the National Palace, so that we can get on with installing Mecene Jean-Louis”.

Biden administration to reject actions of Moïse to retain power

Caribbean-American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke on the weekend co-authored letter with the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, Congressman Gregory Meeks, urging newly installed US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the Biden administration to “unambiguously reject the undemocratic actions of President Moïse to retain power in Haiti”.

Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, said the letter was supported by a number of their congressional colleagues.

In their letter, Clarke, who represents the Ninth Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York, and Meeks, who represents the Fifth Congressional District in Queens, New York, stated that they “look forward to reclaiming America’s moral leadership on the world stage”.

A section of the letter reads, “in that spirit, we write to express great concern about ongoing developments in Haiti. As Members of Congress, who believe deeply in democracy and the rule of law. We feel it is essential that the United States unambiguously reject any attempt by President Moïse to retain power in contravention of those principles”.

In the meantime, the US lawmakers said Haiti remains gripped in “a cascade of economic, public health and political crises”.

The Biden administration has called for the Haitian administration to hold talks to resolve the crisis, saying that a newly-elected president should succeed President Moise when his term ends on February 2, 2022.