Elections in Haiti stopped indefinitely

Photo Credit: Fabienne Fleurantin/The Beacon

Fabienne Fleurantin/Contributing Writer  

My family emigrated from Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Unfortunately, that fact still remains true today. This country that has been ravaged by corruption and greed finally had an opportunity of conducting a democratic election on Jan. 24, but a day before it was to be decided who would become the next presidential successor, the election was postponed indefinitely. Jude Celestin, a presidential candidate, “refused to participate over alleged fraud,” as mentioned by a Reuters article.

Creating a stable government has been a recurring issue in Haiti. Since 1957, Haiti has been unable to build a proper governmental system due to the dictatorship of the Duvalier family. Ever since then, the transition of power to another successor has been one of difficulty.

“This is a country that has a terrible history of dictatorships and coups. And so, it’s been very fragile, the democracy here, only a change in power peacefully one or two times,” Carrie Kahn said on NPR.

Michel Martelly is the current president and is due to step down this Feb. 7. The two candidates, Jude Celestin and Jovenel Moise, were in the running for the position. Moise is favored by Martelly mainly because they have similar values—bringing foreign investors into the country and helping the tourism industry flourish. Celestin, on the other hand, cares deeply about the poor people of the country and doesn’t want to be a part of a tainted government. His negation to partake in the election has caused protest and violence in the streets. This incident resonated with Haitian students here at the university.

“Protesting is sometimes a way to distract the mass population from the real problems of Haiti—which is, in my opinion, a lack of knowledge about governing the country and resolving its problems,” FIU student Faberna Pierre said.

The people of Haiti are afraid that the government will fall into the wrong hands which is why they want Martelly gone in the first place. Moise and Martelly both have the same vision—bringing in foreign financiers to help boost their economy and help them put Haiti on the map as a tourist destination. However, the people won’t get a say in what is being done within their country.

“Why are we the ones being scared to go back home while foreigners are walking the streets of Haiti like they are home?” Another university student, Nirva Francois-Laventure, said. “In order to know what is going on in Haiti, you would have to know its history.”

This has been a circumstance that the Haitian community has felt before and they don’t want to experience the same setbacks. If foreign investors go in to build their own companies, who is to say that they won’t hire the Haitian people as workers and pay them next to nothing? The people need to have a voice in the government that represents their concerns and helps see them through.

Does Haiti need help to rebuild? Of course, it does. Every country needs a helping hand when it’s in the middle of a crisis. However, it can become an independent nation and not have to depend on other countries to constantly give them aid. Haiti needs a president who is willing to create jobs domestically instead of bringing oversea investors to dominate their country. Plus, the workers will be able to produce an income for themselves and their families. Most of all, Haiti needs a president the people can trust in order for progress to be reassured.

In order to have a prosperous and functional country, there needs to be a foundation on which it can thrive. Haiti needs to have a presidential election soon if they want the remnants of what’s left to become something tangible and fundamentally strong.