The Senate was the final democratically elected institution to be removed from Haiti when it awoke on Tuesday. This is a scary development because it seems to strengthen what some people have called a “de facto dictatorship” that runs a country with a lot of gang violence.
Because Haiti had not held legislative elections since October 2019, only 10 senators had been serving as a symbolic representation for the country’s 11 million citizens in recent years. However, their terms ended suddenly, leaving Haiti without a single lawmaker in either the House or Senate and in the midst of a deteriorating political situation. Since President Jovenel Moise, who had been governing by decree, was assassinated in July 2021, organised crime groups have operated essentially unrestrained.
One of the biggest crises that Haiti has had since the Duvalier dictatorship is “a very awful situation,” according to Alex Dupuy, a sociologist at Wesleyan University who was born in Haiti.
The previous time Haitian elections were absent was under the brutal rule of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who left the nation in 1986.
Parliament walked away.
Tuesday saw no one inside the Parliament building in the heart of Port-au-Prince; only security personnel stood at the entrance. Outside Haiti’s non-operational Supreme Court and electoral commission, similar scenes were visible.
Meanwhile, despite numerous promises over the past year and a half to organise general elections, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who took over as leader of Haiti with the support of the international community after Moise was assassinated, has not done so. His most recent pledge, made on January 1, called for the reinstatement of the Supreme Court and the creation of a temporary electoral body entrusted with picking a suitable date for elections.
Even as he urged Haitians to put their trust in one another and “take me at my word when I speak of my government’s desire to do everything necessary to restore our democratic institutions,” Henry provided no timetable.
Dupuy said, “There are no authorities to monitor his judgment.” “Henry will act like a dictator as long as that circumstance exists.”
Henry’s office spokeswoman declined to comment.
Murders and kidnappings
Before elections can be held in Haiti, the U.N. has issued a warning. According to the U.N., the number of reported kidnappings increased to more than 1,200 last year, more than doubling what was reported the year before, and at least 280 homicides were reported in November alone, setting a new monthly record.
Helen La Lime, who was named Haiti’s U.N. special envoy in October 2019, briefed the U.N. Security Council in December and described what she called “alarmingly high levels of gang violence” in Haiti, which has less than 9,000 active police officers nationally.
With experts believing that the gangs control around 60% of Port-au-Prince, kidnappings are becoming a more important source of revenue for the organisations.
In the capital, phone chargers and other equipment vendor Daniel Jean, 25, said, “We are afraid to leave our homes.” “With kidnapping and extortions, we are trapped.” “People are being killed by gangs because we lack a ransom.”
According to Jean, who added that he won’t cast his vote if the same politicians and parties are on the ballot, Haitians have lost all faith in the democratic process.
“Compared to the gangs, they have more power.” “They are in charge of every group,” he explained. This is the reason the nation won’t advance until the international community steps in to assist.
In October, the most powerful gang took over a key gas station and cut off the fuel supply to hospitals, schools, businesses, and homes. Henry then asked for foreign troops to be sent there quickly.
But as a response, the United States and Canada, among other countries, have only used sanctions and not sent soldiers.
“Haiti needs stability!” exclaimed Andrea Marcele, 29, a migrant from the Grand-Anse region in the north who now hawks yams, lemons, carrots, and other produce on the streets of the capital.
She declared, “The nation has no president and no elected leaders.” Everyone is craving power. “We are already suffering the effects.”
I must leave immediately.
Haitians flee via jet or flimsy boat as the situation worsens, risking their lives to seek some level of safety and economic security. Many people aim for Florida or the Bahamas. The government of President Joe Biden stopped tens of thousands last year and sent them back to Haiti.
Selling rice, beans, and other commodities, Rodelie Kator, 49, hopes to send her 18-year-old son to Chile or Brazil, two common destinations for Haitians who subsequently attempt to pass into Mexico and the United States.
“I want my son to have a better life,” she stated. “I don’t want to see him killed,” she said.
Because she has heard in the news “what my brothers and sisters had to go through to go to Mexico… being treated like animals,” Kator said she hopes he can remain in Haiti.
Even though Biden stated last week that his government would instantly turn away Haitians and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, Haiti offers no promise for her kid.
Enomy Germain, a Haitian economist, made an effort to uplift his countrymen at this time when there are no elected politicians in Haiti.
“This date will have marked the beginning of the end of a political elite without vision—without consideration for the common good and without balance,” he tweeted.”Be aware that life will not be better without you tomorrow.”
But even if elections were to take place, many Haitians would worry for their lives and wonder if any candidate would be worthy of their support.
“We seem to be approaching a civil war,” Marcele stated. “You’re carrying a coffin under your arm as you go.”
