The Secretary of State of the United States, Mike Pompeo, has conveyed in person to the president of Haiti, Jovenel Moise, the North American call for the Caribbean country to hold new parliamentary elections as soon as possible and to respect Human Rights.
Both leaders have coincided in the Dominican Republic on the occasion of the inauguration of the new president, Luis Abinader, and have taken the opportunity to maintain what Pompeo has described on his Twitter account as a “good conversation.”
For the head of US diplomacy, it is “key” that Haiti “reinforce the rule of law and support for Human Rights”, as an “inclusive” Electoral Council and hold legislative elections, since the country has lacked Parliament since beginning of the year.
The elections should have been held in October 2019, but then protests against the government and denouncing the social situation paralyzed the country. The legislators’ mandate expired in January, since then no clear progress has been made to resolve the crisis.
Moise has also admitted on Twitter that “the meeting was basically about the organization of the elections.” “Like me, my American partners believe that the elections continue to be the ideal way for the survival of democracy,” said the Haitian president.
The political paralysis in Haiti, governed by decree in the absence of the legislative power, coincides with the coronavirus pandemic, which accumulates 7,879 positives and 196 deaths in the Caribbean country. Furthermore, the UN estimates that 5.1 million people are in need of humanitarian aid, with 4.1 million Haitians – 38 percent of the population – in extreme hunger.