12873: on presidential terms and elections (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: J.David <list@lyalls.net>

It was written:
> If democracy is to have a chance,
> Aristide's term must be completed without molestation and a fair
> election  held to pass on the office,
> a process determined by the constitution.

Well, it would be nice to have a SECOND presidential term begin
and end on schedule, true. People in dyas are ignoring the
honorable Rene Preval these days tho.

A local Haytian remarked to me within the last month or so that
preval was the first president to serve a designated term and
leave office peacefully, then RETIRE TO HIS FARM.

Heinle & H do mention a 19th century president who was elected and
then left at the scheduled time, but he may have then run off
to Jamaica as was normal for expelled presidents.

Last year I noted on the list that preval is now looked upon
kindly by pep la. Not unusually, many people like to trash
the incumbent, just like americans. They called preval a drunk
when he was in office. Now they call him 'the builder'.

His greatest accomplishment (to my mind) was forcing the parliament
to retire when their terms expired and then appoint a provisional
government to schedule the 2000 elections. Which were held on schedule,
and peacefully, and were fairer and more transparent than the florida
elections of that same year.

the florida elections which resulted in the appointment of
george the second by the disgraced supreme court.
(oops, usa politics ranting)

Anyway, Rene Preval set the firm groundwork for a functioning
electoral system and representative government en hayti.
It was said that he had to call tabah for orders from titid's crew
on lots of things, but he did set a tone.
(Like, catch the bastards who killed Jean Dominique even if it
includes a soon to be senator)

Preval also repeatedly refused to take executive action which was
reserved for the prime minister under the (possibly unrealistic)
haytian constitution. I recall him saying again and again that
he would do only what the constitution allowed him to do.

So, to sum this up, I think that the previous president (the premier
Lavalas President) did set a solid groundwork for the establishment
of functioning democracy.

Unfortunately, the idiotic refusal to hold run off elections for
a miserable 7 senate seats has plunged the country into two
years of further chaos.

Lets talk about that.



=====
J. David Lyall,
http://www.lyalls.net/