Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/28/what-is-happening-in-haiti-political-crisis-persists
Analysis: Haiti is currently in the middle of a political crisis.
Opposition and civil society leaders are disputing the mandate of President Jovenel Mosie, whose term most legal experts and civil society groups have said ended on February 7. Yet, the president and his supporters claim that his five-year term expires in 2022.
Things have rapidly devolved since the president made clear he would not leave his position this month, with government officials alleging a failed coup took place. Nearly two dozen people were arrested, including a supreme court judge and a senior police official.
Protestors, against the president, were met with a crackdown in Port-au-Prince, the capital. During rallies both protestors and journalists have been injured as anger and frustrations boil over in the streets.
The start of this crisis began when Moise won a first round of elections in October 2015. But the vote was marred by widespread voter fraud and a presidential runoff was pushed back several times. A vote was held again in November 2016 and Moise won with 55.6 percent support. He officially took office on February 7, 2017. In Haiti’s constitution, article 134-1, “the duration of the presidential mandate is 5 years. This period begins on the February 7 following the date of elections”. Yet article 134-2 stipulates that, “in case the vote cannot take place before February 7, the elected president takes office immediately after the vote is confirmed and his mandate is expected to begin on February 7 in the year of the election”.
Both political parties have claims that champion one of these two articles. Fundamentally the dispute is over whether Moise’s five-year term began in 2016- after the initial elections he won- or in 2017, which is what his supporters claim. Despite the president’s claim that this is simply a constitutional misconception, he and his constituents seem to have more nefarious plans. So far Moise has been governing by decree since January 2020, when the legislature’s mandate expired. Ruling by decree is a style of governance allowing for quick, unchallenged promulgation of law by a single person or group, and is primarily used by dictators and absolute monarchs or military leaders. That coupled with the violent silencing of protestors, governmental reforms, and the imprisonment of political officials indicates that Moise may be planning to remain in power via a hostile takeover. This crisis could have serious lasting effects on Haiti, and could result in a civil war. A civil war may seem inevitable as both tensions and hostilities rise, and protestors grow more anxious.
Political crackdowns in Port-au-Prince are significant for two reasons, which relate to their status as important geographical features. Port-au-Prince is both a capital/political center and an Ecumene. This city is a capital/political center because it’s a seat of government and administration. It’s also symbolic of the state and it’s location is strategically tied to the physical environment. The city can be considered an Ecumene because its an area of great population density and economic activity. Because of these two aspects, the capital’s current political upheaval is very concerning.