Municipal
Haiti: Elected Officials Resisting President’s Decision to Remove Them
- Tuesday, March 06, 2012 6:22 PM
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (defend.ht) - Municipal delegates in Port-au-Prince said they were surprised by the actions of President Michel Martelly to replace city officials without elections. They call it “organized theft”, this action by the head of state.
"Only an elected replaces another one" is now the motto of municipal authorities across the country, recalling ARTICLE 66 of the Constitution of Haiti.
Mayors in different departments and municipalities throughout the country are forming a resistance from the decision of President Martelly to proceed with their revocation before the elections.
"One can’t fire a mayoral cartel before the election unless there is blatant fraud, otherwise we must wait for the elections to replace them," advised the municipal delegate of Port-au-Prince Sicard Lemaire.
According to Lemaire, the constitution has made the mayor an autonomous entity, as well as one can not replace a senator before the election, one can not do this for a mayor.
Reacting to the position of some mayors who don’t intend to leave before the elections, President Martelly said that "when the state revokes somebody, the state revokes somebody."
Related 02.24.2012: Haiti: President Martelly Appoints Dozen Municipal Officials to Elected Seats
Related 02.06.2012: Haiti: Mayor Warns of Threats against his Life
Source: Haiti Press Network
