Haiti’s crisis of democracy

CNN — Turmoil in Haiti could soon test democratic leaders’ support for embattled president Jovenel Moise, a former banana exporter whose claim to another year in office has sparked protests in the capital, arrests and the abrupt dismissal of several Supreme Court judges. VALERIE BAERISWYL/AFP/Getty Images A president accused of dismantling democracy Haiti’s democratic institutions have been crippled under Moise, who has not organized parliamentary or local elections, leaving the legislative branch of government largely vacant and powerless. VALERIE BAERISWYL/AFP/Getty Images Last week, US State Department spokesman Ned Price echoed Moise when he told reporters that “a new elected president should succeed President Moise when his term ends … on February 7, 2022” — though in tacit acknowledgement of the country’s hamstrung democracy, he also urged Moise to let voters pick a parliament and to “exercise restraint in issuing decrees.” Such support is key to Moise’s continuation in office, said Nicole Phillips, a law professor at the University of California, Hastings and Université de la Foundation Dr. Aristide in Port-au-Prince. “You have Haitian constitutional scholars as well as the CSPJ and the federal bar association who are making their interpretations and the international community doesn’t care.” Some US lawmakers have called on the US State Department in an open letter to “condemn President Moise’s undemocratic actions, and support the establishment of a transitional government.” Without support from Haiti’s powerful neighbor, efforts to form any transitional government will hold little clout while Moise retains control of the country’s police and military.