On Friday October 2, Provisional Electoral Council (CEP)
member Nehemy Joseph submitted
resignation letters (images below) to both President Martelly and his
colleagues at the CEP, in a fresh blow to Haiti’s electoral process. Dogged by
criticisms over the fraud and violence-plagued legislative elections on August 9, the CEP has suffered from a crisis of confidence as many political parties
and civil society groups continue to demand the resignation of its president,
Pierre Louis Opont and other changes before presidential elections October 25.
Joseph told president Martelly that he was “not
comfortable” staying at the CEP any longer. In his letter to the CEP, Joseph
cited his unsuccessful attempts to persuade his colleagues to correct what he
perceived as errors and the public criticism of the institution as reasons for
his departure. Joseph also singled out the United Nations Development Program’s
control over the electoral budget as a factor impeding the work of the CEP.
"Today, I am increasingly convinced that completing my
mandate would involve me in illegality. (I feel that my credibility will end up
melting away like an ice block if I do not leave.) Indeed, the various
unsuccessful efforts I made to persuade some of my colleagues to reconsider
certain decisions made in error are, among others, factors that have deepened
my concerns ... It is natural to make mistakes, but to persevere in error even
while recognizing it as such can prove to be pathological," Joseph wrote. Nevertheless,
Joseph concluded by stating that he hopes the electoral process will continue
smoothly.
Political insiders had expected the announcement for at
least a few days. Joseph is “someone not willing to go down in a sinking boat
at whatever the cost,” one political adviser close to president Martelly said,
requesting anonymity. The adviser expected the election to proceed as
scheduled, though acknowledged he was less sure than prior to the resignation. The
decision raises the prospect of other councilors following Joseph out the door,
which could put the continuation of the electoral process in jeopardy.
The CEP and the Martelly government insist that elections
will go ahead as planned. "This will not affect the work of the CEP," fellow
council member Ricardo Augustin told
the Haitian press in response to Joseph’s resignation. Jean Renel Sanon, a
representative of the National Palace said that the
government would be in communication with the Peasant/Vodou sector, which had
nominated Joseph to the post, to find a replacement as soon as possible. The
electoral decree passed in March stipulates that the CEP can continue to
function so long as a quorum of 5 members is achieved.
A grouping of opposition political parties, politicians
and movements, which are advocating for a cancellation of what they call the "electoral farce" of August 9, applauded
Joseph’s resignation. Some members of the grouping also demanded an
investigation into allegations of corruption within the CEP, especially as it
concerns the announcement of final results from first-round election.
Weeks after the electoral schedule had called for final
results to be announced, the CEP posted
them online on Sunday, September 27. Rather than lead to greater clarity
however, the final results only added to the confusion. In two departments, the
Artibonite and Ouest, it was announced that Senators had won in the first round
despite many areas needing to re-run first round elections because of
irregularities on election day. In contrast, in the other departments, the CEP
did not publish Senate results pending the outcome of reruns. In Washington
D.C. for an event in Congress, CEP member Yolette Mengual defended the final
results and said the decisions on Senators winning in the first round was a
court decision and not that of the CEP. Mengual was a member of the electoral
court which ruled on the Senate race in the Artibonite.
Joseph’s resignation comes just days after evidence of
internal rifts in the CEP surfaced. While in public the CEP has maintained a
united front, an anonymous CEP official
told Le Nouvelliste that there
were in fact two main camps in the electoral council, one of which generally
sides with those close to the government. He told the newspaper that he was
considering submitting his resignation, due to the harm the CEP’s decisions
were having on his public reputation. "I stayed because of the issues. I
did not want to play into the hands of those who want a transitional
government. But the way things function with council members clearly serving
those in power and other interests, it is hard to guarantee credible elections
and credible results," the CEP member told Le Nouvelliste.
Several of the CEP’s decisions did not respect the law or
have sufficient evidence to be made, such as the exclusion of presidential
candidate Jacky Lumarque and Senatorial candidate Arnel Belizaire, the anonymous
council member said. Regarding the announced final results, he explained to the
paper, "yes, there was influence-peddling, bargaining."
Members of the business sector have come out in support
of the embattled electoral institution, including the influential Private
Sector Economic Forum, whose representative, Pierre Louis Opont, is the
president of the CEP. Reginald Boulos, a doctor and businessman from one of
Haiti’s wealthiest families, defended the CEP in an
interview with Le Nouvelliste,
claiming it was "one of the
best CEPs we have had." "The
CEP is not perfect but it is a CEP that has done its best, perhaps, that has
made many mistakes and has acknowledged its mistakes," Boulos told the paper. "I
heard the president of the CEP say that the Council will make corrections. We
should trust that he will make corrections." Boulos was the head of the presidential
advisory commission which led to the resignation of former Prime Minister
Laurent Lamothe in late 2014 and later the formation of the current CEP.
In addition to the violence that significantly disrupted
the vote on August 9, electoral councilors themselves have faced physical
attacks. Just last week Vijonet Demero, another CEP member, had his house
attacked by gunmen, though no injuries were reported. A month before the
election, Wilkenson Bazile, an employee of the CEP who had been working with
the human rights sector representative, Jacceus Joseph, was shot
and killed.
Joseph resignation letter to the CEP:
No comments:
Post a Comment