Haiti entered into another leaderless drift on Wednesday as the interim president’s 120-day mandate came to a close amid backroom negotiations, posturing and delays by the deeply polarized country’s political class.
Lawmakers were expected to decide whether to extend Haitian Interim President Jocelerme Privert’s term until new elections can be held or pave the way for new leader.
However, a National Assembly session failed to take place on Tuesday, when Privert’s tenure expired under the deadline of a February accord that helped put him in power.
National Assembly acting leader Cholzer Chancy on Wednesday demanded that senators and deputies return to the nation’s parliament to vote.
However, a session failed to materialize for a second consecutive day.
“We are 92 deputies and 22 senators. Why can’t we come in and decide how we will continue to govern the country?” Chancy told a local radio station.
The UN, the US government and representatives of other nations making up the Core Group that monitor Haiti on Wednesday voiced concern that “no measures have been taken to ensure institutional continuity.”
They urged lawmakers to quickly reach a solution.
In a Wednesday evening national address, Privert insisted he would stay in office until the divided parliament finally voted.
In February, a majority of members elected him interim leader amid suspended elections and another institutional vacuum in the presidency.
“My government is still working. I am available to go to Parliament as soon as they are ready to make a decision,” Privert said in the televised address, surrounded by his ministers.
However, lower house lawmaker Gary Bodeau and others say that Privert’s term has finished and that Haitian Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles automatically became Haiti’s top official at midnight on Tuesday.
Haitian historian Georges Michel said he believed that only force would remove Privert from power before this electoral cycle can be resolved — and he did not see that as a very likely possibility.
“It’s impossible to say what will happen, but the country is very quiet and very calm for now. So in coming days I think we will see a sort of ‘status quo,’” he said.
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