Port au Prince, Haiti.
The Catholic Church of Haiti he asked the president on Tuesday Jovenel Moise respect for electoral law and the constitution, in a message interpreted by the ruling party and the opposition as a clear suggestion to end your term now.
In an official statement, the Episcopate affirms that “no one is above the law and the constitution” and emphasizes that “everyone wants Haiti to be a state of law”.
“The president of the republic has applied the electoral law and the constitution over the years to the deputies, senators and mayors, including himself, proclaiming that the law is one for all,” the text said.
The statement does not explicitly ask Moise to leave power, but both sectors of the ruling party and the opposition have interpreted that the bishops in this way sided with groups that, citing the constitution and a 2015 election decree, believe that the presidential term ends next Sunday.
See: Jovenel Moïse, sworn in as President of Haiti
Aside from the political issue, the Episcopate also referred to the crime wave sweeping through the country, stating that Haiti is “on the brink of explosion: everyday life for the people is death, murders, impunity, insecurity”.
An adviser to Moise, Stanley Lucas, responded to the bishops by saying on Twitter that “the Catholic Church would rather join the coalition of the oligarchs to protect the system rather than accompany democracy, reform and modernization.”
The duration of Moise’s mandate has today become the center of the political struggle between the government and the opposition, sparking protests and a general strike celebrating its second and final day today.
Moise was elected to a five-year term in 2016 in an election rerun after the 2015 election was canceled due to fraud allegations, taking office on February 7, 2017.
But from the standpoint of the opposition, an article of the constitution opens up the possibility of interpreting that Moise’s mandate began a year earlier as a result of the electoral crisis.
This dissertation is supported by the vast majority of the opposition, the trade unions, the bar association, the Jesuits and now the Episcopate, among other groups.
However, the theory that Moise’s term ends on February 7, 2022 is supported by the Organization of American States (OAS), the United States, and other countries.
Moise has called for elections next September and plans to first approve a new constitution, which he plans to put forward for a referendum in April. EFE