A special mission sent by the Organization of American States (OAS) met Haitian President Michel Martelly on Sunday as part of intensifying efforts to resolve an electoral crisis that threatens stability in the Caribbean nation.
Martelly is due to leave office on Sunday, but has no successor because violent protests over alleged fraud in a flawed first round led electoral authorities to call off a runoff vote scheduled to be held a week ago.
The government and the opposition remain at loggerheads, with each side holding protests almost daily and no agreement on who is to rule the nation if Martelly leaves office without an elected replacement.
Photo: AP
Criticism of the first round on Oct. 25 last year focused on hundreds of thousands of party agents permitted to vote in any polling station.
The runoff, with tighter controls on voting by party representatives, was supposed to be disputed between ruling party favorite Jovenel Moise and opposition challenger Jude Celestin.
Anti-government protesters have voiced opposition to the OAS initiative, which they believe might help Martelly remain in power beyond the constitutional date for his departure.
At least four proposals for what to do after Sunday are on the table, including options for an interim government that would be tasked with organizing elections. The proposal most strongly resisted by the opposition is for Martelly to stay on until elections are held.
The opposition, which includes members of several parties, who dispute the results of a first round election, threatens to intensify protests.
Proposals under discussion include nominating a Haitian Supreme Court judge or Haitian Prime Minister Evans Paul as provisional president. Another idea is that Haiti’s National Assembly appoint an interim president.
Martelly said he would not leave if there is no agreement about what happens after Sunday.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number