PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – President Jovenel Moise says 2019 must result in Haiti achieving “credible, honest, democratic and transparent elections” and his administration will provide the necessary resources to accomplish that feat.
Addressing the opening of a new Parliament session, Moise, whose victory in January 2017 ended an election process that stretched on for 14 months, said that Haiti is going through a “decisive period” as this is the fourth and last year of the 50th legislature.
The bicameral National Assembly of Haiti consists of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Chamber of Deputies has 99 members, who are elected by popular vote for a four-year term, while the 30 members of the Senate are elected to serve six-year terms, with one third elected every two years.
Moise told legislators 2018 had been characterized by economic, political and social challenges and this year “should allow us to be more concerned about the respect of the constitutional prescriptions, to strive, in the patriotic spirit, to overcome crises that threaten the survival of the nation.”
But he told legislators that at the same time, this year his government intends to strengthen its structural recovery program. He said the political turbulence has had a negative impact on the local economy, leading to unemployment that is likely to continue.
“Also, all of us: State authorities, civil society, the private sector, we are obliged to undertake more initiatives that will enable the country to attract domestic and foreign direct investment, create jobs and increase agricultural production and industrial national.”
He said it is with the aim of achieving these objectives that the government will urgently undertakes the strengthening of measures to combat corruption and impunity, reduce the State’s lifestyle and clean up public accounts.
The opposition parties have been staging street demonstrations in support of their calls for President Moise to step down, after accusing him of not investigating allegations of corruption in the previous government over PetroCaribe, an oil alliance of many Caribbean states with Venezuela to purchase oil on conditions of preferential payment.
Several people have died as a result of the protests.
