New Haiti commission to evaluate elections

The commission, created by order of the president, will assess Haiti's electoral process ahead of Dec. 27 runoffs

December 17, 2015 

President Michel Martelly on Thursday ordered the creation of a special commission to assess Haiti's electoral process ahead of Dec. 27 presidential and legislative runoffs that opposition factions have threatened to derail because of suspicions of widespread fraud.

Martelly, who has been ruling by decree since January, named five members to assess the electoral process over the next three days and then make recommendations to the Provisional Electoral Council and his government. He said they would have assistance from experts from the European Union and observers from the Organization of American States.

A broad array of rights groups, local election monitors and political factions has alleged that the Oct. 25 presidential and legislative elections in Haiti were so badly marred by ballot tampering, multiple voting and other irregularities that their validity was in question.

The No. 2 presidential finisher, Jude Celestin, has called the officially announced results a "ridiculous farce" and suggested he would boycott a runoff with the government-backed candidate who finished first unless a proper review of the elections was done and changes were made to the electoral council and police.

Celestin, a former state construction chief, has not been campaigning in recent weeks, but hasn't withdrawn from the runoff with Martelly's pick, political newcomer Jovenel Moise.

The council that oversees the electoral process has rejected insisted it lacks authority to authorize any review of the results and said the Dec. 27 date was firm.

Martelly was prohibited by Haiti's constitution from seeking a second consecutive term.

At a Thursday evening news conference, Prime Minister Evans Paul acknowledged that it would be "difficult" for elections to be held next weekend. But he also noted that the constitution mandates that new legislators take office Jan. 11 and the president give up his office Feb. 7.

It was not clear how the members of the new evaluation commission were chosen or what the precise scope of their review would be. Martelly said his "commission of evaluation" would be tasked with recommending measures to "ensure transparency and credibility of the electoral process."

The panel includes Patrick Aris of the Episcopal Conference of Haiti, which has been sharply critical of this year's elections, as well as Rosny Desroches, director of a Haitian observer group, and former Port-au-Prince Mayor Joseph Emmanuel Charlemagne.

The two presidential candidates expected to compete in the runoff could have a representative monitor the commission's work, according to the presidential decree.

The Associated Press

teleSurtv.net Latin America

Haitians Claim Fraud Ahead Presidential Runoff  

The country’s electoral authority is believed to be highly influenced by the U.S., who poured US$31 million into the electoral process. Thousands of people took to the streets of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince on Wednesday to denounce fraud in the first round of the presidential and parliamentary elections that were held on Oct. 25.   According to results posted by the Provisional Electoral Council, Jovenel Moise, obtained 32.81 percent of the preferences, and Jude Celestin won 25.27 percent.  The electoral authority CEP is believed to be largely influenced by the United States that has paid US$31 million to support the electoral process, while protesters have largely demanded an independent commission to review the election outcome.   The massive march passed peacefully however there was an incident when some protesters began throwing stones to the U.N. peacekeepers that were helping authorities to safeguard the area.  ANALYSIS: Meet Haiti's Presidential Candidates  This is just another demonstration ahead of the runoff election scheduled for Dec. 27. The second round of voting will be between Moise, backed by the outgoing president and the ruling party, and Celestin, one of the more than 57 opposition candidates.  Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and still struggles with the legacy of the devastating 2010 earthquake and Western colonialism.   This electoral process was expected to end the political instability that has reigned in the Caribbean nation for the past three decades, particularly after the end of the Duvalier regime.  

The Senate rejects the government commission

In a note Thursday, the Senate deplored and denounced the establishment of a "Commission of Electoral Evaluation" and the unilateral character of the approach of the Executive.http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16089-haiti-flash-president-martelly-announced-the-creation-of-a-commission.html

"The Senate of the Republic deplores the decision of the Executive, which not only does not meet the demands of various sectors of the Nation but also does in no way contributes to resolving the crisis in the country."

Andris Riché, Senate President regrets that the position of the upper house has not been taken into account in the formation of the Commission, noting that the Senate had recommended the establishment of an independent Commission for the Evaluation and/or verification, to decide on the multiple allegations of fraud, irregularities surrounding the electoral process.

His colleague, Senator Jean-Baptiste Bien-Aimé rejects the formation of this Commission, that he described as diversionary tactic, arguing that election stakeholders should have participated in the formation of any commission. Moreover, he argues that the 5 members appointed by the Government, at one level or another, have links with the ruling party.

Haitians tell their embassy in Dominican capital to cut the red tape

Dominican TodaySaturday 19th December, 2015

Santo Domingo.- To the beat of a gaga rhythm and waving banners with their demands, dozens of Haitians protested outside the Haitian embassy in the Dominican Republic, alleging that they've already paid for all the documents needed to request Dominican residency but have yet to receive any.

Group spokesman Christophe Leonard said around 98,000 applications were submitted for the Dominican government program to regularize foreigners,

but have yet to receive any response not even from 5% of the requests.

For all of the three documents: birth certificate, ID card ...

Open our hearts to refugees

Consider refugees as persons, not problems.

MIAMI HERALD

Much of our Christmas observance has been sanitized to consist of warm fuzzy feelings. So it is not surprising that we forget that while Christmas celebrates the coming among us of the Prince of Peace, his coming was indeed “a sign of contradiction.”

We underplay the fact that the pregnant Mary and her husband, Joseph, were turned away from the inn. We forget the slaughter of the Holy Innocents — and that the infant Jesus was spared their fate only through the hurried flight into Egypt where the Holy Family lived for years as what today we would call “political refugees.”

WENSKI

Yet this is the Christmas reality experienced today by the ever growing numbers of migrants and refugees throughout the world. Indeed, today there are more than 60 million refugees and internally displaced persons living in our world — the greatest number since the end of World War II. Close to one-third of these people are from Syria and Iraq. And most are surviving in desperate circumstances. And, truth be told, many fail to survive at all.

Yet, in spite of this profound human suffering, many here in our country would shut our doors in the faces of those looking for a safe haven.

The United States has in the past 30-40 years generously resettled hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict and its aftermath — Vietnamese from Southeast Asia, Kosovars from the Balkan region, and many African nationalities such as Congolese, Somalis and Sudanese, among others.

In the 1990s, nearly 90,000 refugees were admitted yearly. Given the immensity of the overall refugee population then, even 90,000 was a relatively low number. Yet it was more representative of the American people’s humanitarian traditions than the numbers admitted in the aftermath of our national tragedy of September 11, 2001.

We cannot give into our fear and retreat into the mindset of a “fortress America.” Certainly, given the enormity of what happened on 9/11 or what happened last month in Paris, one should not easily dismiss a certain anxiety about national security. But, in fact, refugees coming to the U.S. do pass security checks and multiple interviews. Sometimes the vetting process can take up to two years.

Certainly we can and should look at strengthening the already stringent screening program; yet we can do that while still continuing to welcome those in desperate need. Security fears should not be used as a smoke screen to justify heartless and senseless policies that would close our doors to victims of terrorism as the Bethlehem innkeepers closed their doors to the Holy Family that first Christmas.

The plight of the Syrians as well as the refugees from Iraq is desperate. These refugees — both Muslim and Christian — are extremely vulnerable families, women and children who are fleeing from brutal violence of the Syrian conflict, including the brutality of ISIS, which was responsible for the Paris attacks.

As Pope Francis said to the U.S. Congress this past September: We should “respond in a way which is always human, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ (Mt 7: 12).”

If we see the refugees as “persons” and not as “problems,” our great nation can continue to be a haven to those who, like Mary, Joseph and Jesus of yore, still flee from modern day Herods.

THOMAS G. WENSKI IS ARCHBISHOP OF MIAMI.