Electoral process for a State of Law
By Hyppolite Pierre (First published in December 2002)
Advocating the overthrow of government in Haiti should be an enormous challenge for anyone. I say this, not from a partisan point of view, but after trying to be as reasonable and level-headed as I can be. I have honestly considered all sides of the equation. My conclusion is rooted in Haiti's History and our people's obsession with the presidency.
No one is saying that Aristide and his present government are doing wonders for Haiti. I doubt it that even Jean-Bertrand Aristide, bête noire of an opposition which represents the wealthiest segment of civil society and institutions reaching as far as many Human Rights organizations, would claim to have achieved much in Haiti over the past 22 months.
The government could present us a laundry list of reasons they have not been more effective. Some of their arguments would be quite valid, indeed.
The opposition could present its own list of failures attributed to Aristide's current and previous governments. To a large extent, the opposition would be right as well.
The basic point, to abandon standard uses of euphemism, is this : Haiti IS and has been a failed society for at least a century. The primary reason? Misunderstanding and personalization of power on all sides. To put it bluntly, we revert everything to the presidency. That is quite wrong.
Leaders of the opposition, and other vocal opponents of this regime, adamantly refuse the proposition that Aristide finish his 5-year term. Honestly, ladies and gentlemen, every society or even every family that functions well, does so by virtue of rules, laws, and regulations which when violated, are dealt with accordingly.
In our country's case, History has at least taught me that the best way to resolve disagreements of that kind is through an orderly process. Thank God, we now have something called the electoral process.
Aristide is but one man. He is a man with a job that he applied for, and which the majority of the Haitian people have hired him to do. I sense that even there, you will strongly disagree. Never mind, for it is the basic truth. Aristide won an election on November 26, 2000.
Today, his government is in serious trouble. For the first time in quite a few years, real opposition is mounting against his governance. Still, he has more support inside the country, especially among the poorest than many are willing to admit. He proved it last week when he went to Les Cayes, and he proved it again when he left Haiti last weekend for a conference in Cuba, and returned safely to the National Palace.
If Aristide misreads his popular support and continues business as usual, he'll suffer the effects of his poor judgment in the matter. He seems, however, to have realized that his support is beginning to waver. The opposition on the other hand, now has a tremendous advantage, a momentum that their leaders must learn to build on for the next elections. They can exploit the disenchantment with the present government by going through the electoral process. They should aim to win a majority in Parliament, even it that requires the building of new coalitions.
Such victory would have great positive consequences for the opposition. Here are just a couple of them:
- They would have the opportunity to run government, thereby rendering Aristide mostly ineffective (since they cannot stand him);
- They would, at long last, prove to the people (rich and poor), that they are more capable than Lavalas to do good. As a result, their candidate for the November 2005 presidential elections would have a much, much stronger chance to win.
This would be the first step towards resolving the continuously unstable, and consequently failed Haiti. It would also signal that slowly but surely, Haiti is becoming a State of Law.
The passion that many display in regards to this issue, is nothing else but passion. Anyone who takes the 1987 Constitution and carefully reads the relevant articles on this issue, will be able to decipher the extraordinary advantage the opposition would now have in Haiti, if they agree to adhere to the constitutional process.
Unfortunately and as usual, everyone is in a rush. Everyone wants that ultimate job, the presidency. Yet, not only are they fighting amongst themselves to get it, but they are not taking time to articulate what they will or would do, should they be the next leaders of Haiti.
That makes me suspicious. I fully expect that, should someone replace Aristide within the next few months or year, Haiti would become even more unstable in the long run than it already is. International backers would be able to help a government survive a few months, even perhaps a couple years. But the long term prospect would be quite dim, when one takes into account Haitian politicians' appetite for "la chaise bourrée", the stuffed bright armed chair of the presidency.
We must all learn together to live by the rules, and abide by the rules of law if we wish for a better Haiti. I hope that Aristide understands the severity of the situation and that he creates a new, more inclusive and transparent government. That would help tremendously to bring about long term stability, prosperity, and confidence to Haiti.
For now, the plight of a people continues to grow, because the most educated segment of a society refuses to think rationally, while listening to the dark corners of their hearts.
