Tag Archives: Haitian Elections

Jul 25 2017

The Next President of Haiti…

The next president of Haiti should be able to see the country from the prism of a technological revolution. 

We have been too far left behind the technical boom for too long, it is time now to play catch-up.

It is our state of mind that keeps us in that economically and socially underdeveloped or deprived state of affairs we are in, not because “God is punishing us,” as some of these “levanjil tèt mare” love to suggest.

We need to revolutionize the way we think, the way we see or perceive ourselves and the world around us.

From my observation, I see there is a total philosophical disconnect between the Haitian at home [and some of us living abroad] and the rest of the world. We need to bridge that gap, and the only best and most logical way to accomplish that is by means of a technological revolution.

We need to bring the internet to the entire population, including those living in the country’s most secluded areas –assuming the electric energy problem the country has been struggling with has been intelligently dealt with in its entirety. 

The mobile technology, coupled with the internet, will change the way we learn, study and communicate. In large, that will change the way we see ourselves in relation to the world.

A technological revolution is what we need to change the collective psyche of our people in the long run, which, in turn, will make possible the economic and social development we have been hoping to see become a reality in the country.

Here is the question: in light of the 2021 presidential election, which prospective candidate do you think has the potential –political vision and leadership acumen –to bring about that aforementioned transformational change?

Aug 15 2015

For The Sake of Accountability, Pierre-Louis OPONT Ought to Be Fired

Pierre-Louis OPONT, the President of the Provisional Electoral Council

Pierre-Louis OPONT, the President of the Provisional Electoral Council

After reading this Nouveliste article, Opont a-t-il appris la lecon ?, I could not contain my feeling of discontentment to learn how the August 9 elections were rigged with serious irregularities and violence.

In my humble opinion, I think this Pierre-Louis OPONT ought be fired; he is a failure. Only in Haiti do you see failures being honored and remunerated; only in Haiti do you see someone who blatantly failed in his mission being kept in his position to further fail the nation again and again every chance they get.

Does ACCOUNTABILITY hold any meaning to these people at all?

With responsibility, comes accountability; with accountability, come reward and punishment. That being said, Pierre-Louis OPONT, as president of the electoral council, had the responsibility to gather all available resources at his disposal to successfully organize the Sunday legislative elections. Instead, he brought us shame and despair with his shortcomings. So because he failed to deliver exactly what was expected of him, meaning in accordance with the terms of the mission entrusted with him, he must be held accountable. In other words, he must be fired.

In fact, this man has a track record of failure. He was a high-ranking cadre in the Gaillot Dorsainvil Provisional Electoral Council of 2010; we all know what these guys had done with the elections and how miserable they had failed the country. And we turned around rewarded one of the authors of the electoral blunder with the leadership of the current electoral council. How smart! You cannot be putting failures like OPONT in positions of leadership and expecting successful results. It is not going to happen.

So for the sake of accountability, Pierre-Louis OPONT, the actual had of the electoral council, ought to be asked to resign or be fired –for having miserably failed the country with these bogus elections. The longer he stays in his position, the more tampered the people’s trust will be in the electoral process.

Jun 17 2015

President Martelly Has Made a Mockery of Himself

President Martelly and former Prime Minister Lamothe not looking too happy.

President Martelly and former Prime Minister Lamothe not looking too happy.

In an article entitled Michel Martelly: “J’avais dit à Sophia et à Lamothe qu’ils ne pouvaient pas être candidats à la presidence” [in English, Michel Martelly: “I had told Sophia and Lamothe they could not be presidential candidates”] published on Monday, June 15, 2015 in Le Nouvelliste, Haiti’s only daily newspaper, President Martelly stated: “I had instructed Lamothe that he would not be my candidate for president because I had realized that we were going to have elections with political parties not so comfortable with the idea of him being my candidate, which would give him the competitive edge over his opponents. It was important for me to instill trust in the candidates and credibility in the system so that everyone would believe they could win.”

What a load of charade! Who are his political advisers? If this strategy came from his gang of advisers, all of them ought to be fired? I do not want to think he had acted on his own, without consulting with his advisers on political affairs. I really do not want to think that.

How do you instill trust and credibility in an electoral system, Mr. President?

That’s the one-million-dollar question we need to answer. Mr. President, you instill trust and credibility in an electoral system by making sure that the electoral institution operates in full transparency and fairness, which will level the playing field for all the players in the game. As the guarantor of all the state institutions, Mr. President, that is part of your constitutional prerogatives.

It is expected of every sitting president to choose someone in their entourage who is electable [with a positive track record] to represent their party in an electoral contest. It was expected of President George H. W. Bush to endorse Vice President Dan Quayle for president; it was expected of President Bill Clinton to endorse Vice President Al Gore’s candidacy for president to succeed him. For the sake of ideological continuity, Mr. President, that is what sitting presidents are expected to do. And doing so would not compromise in any shape or form trust and credibility in the electoral system itself.

It is like telling me you are the general of an army going to war with a potential enemy and decide to leave behind your best warriors, those you can count on to take your army to victory. What kind of a general are you, and what kind of a battle strategy are you executing?

Choosing Lamothe would not have guaranteed him a win. For him to win, he would have relied on his political astuteness to put together a winning strategy. Since I have been following presidential politics, I have witnessed candidates endorsed by sitting presidents losing elections all the time. The opposition could have won running against Lamothe. They would have bet on the effectiveness of their campaign strategy to frame their political arguments against him.

Further down in the article, almost close to the end, he said about Lamothe: “Lamothe may have more ardor than me and be more hi-tech than I am, but be careful; it’s neither being hi-tech nor having money that makes me but rather my profundity and grandeur.”

Was this statement necessary, seriously? This is puerile thinking, to say the least. It really downgrades the president’s character. It shows me that he is not concerned about the future of the country; he is more concerned about his ego, his delusion of grandeur.

Nothing stops Martelly from being hi-tech. He can always be so if he wants. In that statement, he comes across as someone who is envious of Lamothe for who he is and what he is. There is a level grotesqueness we do not expect our heads of state to stoop to.

Mr. President, with all due respect, you have made a blunder. Please admit it. Find a better excuse to justify your decision next time. And until you find one that makes sense, you should not be talking to the press on that matter, for the more you do, the more you will be making ridiculous and embarrassing revelations.

Jun 14 2015

Contact Your US Senators and Ask Them to Stop Financing the SELECTION Martelly and His Cronies in the Provisional Electoral Council Are Preparing

ACT

President Martelly and his cronies in the Provisional Electoral Council (PEC) are preparing to kidnap and rape our democracy –the democracy thousands of our brothers and sisters have died for over the years.

Instead of organizing free, fair and inclusive elections to allow the people to choose their leaders, these enemies of our democracy are organizing a SELECTION, in total violation of our civil and political rights, and want to force it down our throats.

The Provisional Electoral Council –the institution put together to organize free, fair and inclusive elections in the country –has been vassalized and used as a political instrument [by these enemies of our democracy] to bar for POLITICAL REASONS former Prime Minister Lamothe from running for president. Mind you, he is the solid front-runner in the race.

Since we do not believe in violence –“kraze brize,” burning tires and terrorist activities to make our voices heard –we are going to use the nonviolent and most effective approach to pressure Martelly and his goons in the PEC to correct their misstep, faux pas, blunder or impropriety.

We believe that if we could cut the money supply financing this masquerade SELECTION, there is no way they can move forward with it. The way we are going to do that is simple. We are going to click on the attached link and locate our senators’ names, their phone numbers and email addresses. We are going to either call their offices or write them a simple note to denounce what President Martelly and his subjects in the PEC are doing in Haiti. We are going to ask them to stop financing the SELECTION in Haiti; we demand and deserve free, fair, inclusive and democratic elections.

The blatant abuse of power going on in Haiti can only perpetuate if and only if we the people do not take action. We have the power to change the political dynamics in the country, so let’s stop complaining and take action. The tax dollars of the American people must not be used to finance a masquerade SELECTION that does not represent their value system.