Politics in Haiti > Haiti Political Crisis

Haiti Politics - Understanding why two-thirds of the Senate have to go Monday January 13, 2020

After president Martelly assumed office in 2011, he was supposed to hold elections immediately to replace one-third of the Senate seats whose terms expired were to expire in 2012. Those elections were not held and and these Senate seats became vacant in 2012.

4 opposition Senators sit outside of parliament after they destroyed the Senate

So, in 2012, the term of senators Anacasis Jean Hector, Joseph Lambert, Youri Latortue and 7 others expired.

AUDIO En Creole: Tande poukisa deux tiers Senat a dwe ale 2eme Lundi moi Janvier 2020.

In 2014, elections were supposed to be held once again (every two years). But this elections were not held in order to renew the second third of the Senate.

So in 2014, a second group of senators left the Senate and these seats became vacant.

Because two elections were not held, two-thirds of the Senate seats were vacant according to the electoral law.

In 2015, elections was organized for two-thirds of the Senate seats that were vacant.

It was said clearly in the electoral law that, for the candidates who will be going to these elections, it would not be a renewal. In other words they were not going to elections to replace a senator whose six-year Senate seat had just expired, they were instead going to elections to complete the 6-year term of a seat that had been vacant since 2012 and 2014.

The elections that were held in 2016 were renewal elections, meaning a complete term 6-year term for Senators whose vacant seat had just been vacant.

The electoral law said the two winners of the 2015 Senate elections would only be completing the remaining term of the seats that had been vacant since 2012 and 2014. These terms would end in 2018 and 2020 respectively.

After everything you heard, Haitian president Jovenel Moise got into a compromise with 10 Senators whose terms expired since 2018.

Senate president Carl Murat Cantave and Senator Antonio Cheramy, their terms expired since 2018.

Since January 2018, these senator were supposed to pack their bags and leave the Senate.

Senator Sorel Jacinthe, his term expired since January 2018.

Why is there still a debate over who has to stay and who has to go in the Senate?

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