Haiti’s president promised on Thursday (February 4( to leave power in three days’ time despite having no replacement after a botched election, as opposition protests intensified and politicians squabbled over who should lead an interim government.
President Michel Martelly had earlier warned he would not step aside without an established succession plan, enraging protesters who have marched almost daily in the capital Port-au-Prince over the past two weeks.
Haiti’s constitution requires Martelly to leave office on Feb. 7, but runoff elections to choose the next president were cancelled last month when opposition candidate Jude Celestin threatened to boycott the vote and protests turned violent.
A short distance across town from Martelly, more than two thousand anti-government protesters marched outside parliament, with some demanding that former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, ousted in a 2004 coup, be called to head an interim government.
“There’s only one person who solve the crisis, and that person is Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Without Aristide, there’s no solution, and that’s why we’ve been saying for two years we have been calling on Aristide to resolve this crisis.” said one protester.
Martelly’s departure should placate opposition parties who accuse him of trying to unfairly favour his preferred candidate, Jovenel Moise, in the elections but could leave a power vacuum in the poor, volatile Caribbean nation.
Martelly denies any wrongdoing. An official, independent evaluation of the election found the first round of voting was flawed, and questioned the registration of more than 900,000 party agents who were able to vote at any polling station.
“I never wanted to stay in power for one day longer (than expected). There is nothing tugging on me to stay in power. I don’t fear anything. On February 7, I am leaving. I won’t feel anything different. I am still the same person. In fact, I will feel freer. The problems won’t be my responsibility,” Martelly told reporters at an event to inaugurate a new Department of Interior headquarters built after a January 2010 earthquake flattened much of the capital.
That solution is unlikely to appeal to Celestin and other opposition candidates, who want a Supreme Court judge to lead an interim government that would more deeply investigate the first round and organise a new election.
Protesters clashed with police. Some threw rocks at parliament, where lawmakers met in a joint session of the 50th legislature.
A mission from the Organisation of American States is trying to broker a solution. (Reuters)
