Leave the Constitution Alone

Was Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP in French) legally correct in disqualifying Wyclef Jean as a presidential candidate? The answer is an absolute yes, since the internationally-acclaimed singer does not meet the requirements of Article 135 paragraphs (d) and (e) of the Constitution. He does not have his habitual residence in the country and has not lived there for 5 consecutive years. However it cannot be said that the CEP acted impartially on the issue of qualification as it relates to other presidential contenders. Article 135 of Constitution paragraph (f) unequivocally states that to be elected president of the Republic of Haiti a candidate must “Have been relieved of this responsibilities (sic) if he has been handling public funds. Jude Célestin, the ruling party’s candidate, should also have been disqualified since he did not have the required clearance of the Superior Court of auditors and Administrative Disputes prior to filing his candidacy papers.
It is absurd for anyone to think that the Constitution means anything to the current regime and, by extension, the international community. Since February 29, 2004, the Haitian Constitution has lost its relevancy, otherwise Gérard Latortue could not have been prime minister when he was parachuted from out of nowhere to lead the country in the aftermath of Aristide’s departure. Latortue’s appointment clearly violated paragraphs 4 & 5 of Article 157 which require a potential prime minister to have his habitual residence in the country and live there for 5 consecutive years. Yet no one came to the defense of the Constitution which many now think should form the basis for law and order in Haiti. It is all the more disingenuous that the requirements that cause the CEP to disqualify Wyclef Jean were not applicable to Gérard Latortue whose disdain for the country and its people became evident when he fled his post in May of 2006 without providing to the newly elected Parliament a detailed account of his rule.
Gérard Latortue is remembered as the politician who famously declared Haiti’s demand for repayment of the Independence debt from France “absurd and illegal” and handed jurisdictional control over the Haitian National Police to the MINUSTAH. His tenure as prime minister incidentally provides the best argument against the Diaspora’s desire to help or rule over the impoverished country for years to come. With or without Wyclef Jean’s candidacy, the upcoming election will be a sad day for Haiti and its people as none of the presidential contenders possesses the stature or political dexterity to soften the blows being inflicted on the beleaguered country by the occupiers.
Haiti is presently a country whose future is being decided in dark rooms of international financial institutions acting upon the recommendations of so-called experts whose studies are financed and tailored to fit the preconceived views of the international community. Since history would not be interesting without retrospections, it is fair to conclude that Lesly F. Manigat, who is not running this year because of advanced age, could have been the man of the hour. As the 2008 U.S presidential election has proven: Hillary Clinton was certainly not Bill Clinton and Myrlande Manigat, despite her vaunted intellect and political skills, is definitely not her husband.
Now the second phase of Wyclef Jean’s dead-on-arrival quest for the presidency is the one most fraught with uncertainties because the best laid plan sometimes ran into conflict with reality. Will the euphoria over Wyclef’s candidacy translate into actual participation of a majority of the electorate that was predisposed to heed a possible call to boycott the elections by the excluded Lavalas Party? Because the man is a pawn in a geopolitical game that is beyond his talented artistic mind, he is likely to follow the script by throwing his support behind one of the chosen candidates although he is appealing the decision. Whatever numbers he entices to cross over will be considered a success by the architects of the devilish plan to institutionalize the status quos and delay the Haitian people’s eternal quest for social and economic justice. Most importantly, it will be one more nail in the coffin of the Lavalas movement and Aristide whose grip on a portion of the electorate does not seem to diminish with his forced exile in faraway South Africa.
By now it should be obvious to the international community that the Haitian people’s struggle against economic injustice and social exclusion will continue with or without Aristide and its failure to address these issues will eventually radicalize the population. Last week, in an article written for Reuters, Joseph Guyler Delva quoting some policy analysts wrote: “Despite widespread popular distrust and resentment of powerful political and business elites in Haiti, the local and international security forces were among factors weighing against political bloodletting or any organized attempts to disrupt the November elections.” That may be true to a certain extent, but the analysts are apparently oblivious of the lessons of history and would be unable to explain how a political system that is not supported by the majority can conceivably last and prosper.
As Friday’s decision relates to the sanctity of the Haitian Constitution, the CEP erred in picking and choosing which Articles or paragraphs are applicable to the politic du jour. Moreover, as this drama plays out, one might ask whether the whole exercise is warranted, since under the occupation whoever is elected will be at the mercy of the occupiers. The Constitution is therefore not worth the paper it is written on.