PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Gary Bodeau, says legislators will seek to resume their attempt on August 21 to debate a motion aimed at impeaching President Jovenel Moise after a second attempt last week failed to materialise.
At least 21 deputies had filed the motion accusing Moise of high treason, claiming that he had violated the Constitution and was leading the country to “the edge of the social explosion”.
The first attempt at debating the matter earlier this month failed after the majority of the deputies, most of whom are aligned to Moise’s party, said that it was up to those who are accusing to provide evidence of violations of the Constitution.
When the matter came up for debate last week Monday, only a few deputies were present at the start forcing an adjournment to later in the day when the quorum was obtained with 60 deputies present.
However, soon after announcing the start of the session, Bodeau, spoke of the security situation outside the Parliament building where more than a 100 opposition supporters erected barricades of burning tires in front of the building.
Following discussions with the presidents of the three parliamentary blocs, Bodeau said that a new date would be set for the debate.
Bodeau also announced that the ratification session for Prime Minister Fritz William Michel will take place on Friday.
Earlier this month, Moise called on Parliament to approve the nomination and government of Michel, describing him as “a brilliant civil servant who has devoted his entire career to serving the people of Haiti”.
Michel, a former executive in the Ministry of Economy and Finance, became the fourth prime minister of this French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country since President Moise became the head of state in 2017.
He has since named an 18-member Cabinet, equally divided between men and women and is waiting to present his general policy statement to parliament.
