10-31-05,9:14am
Nothing better illustrates the chaotic, arbitrary and illegal character of Haiti’s upcoming “selections” than the candidacy of Haitian-born Texas millionaire Dumarsais Mécène Siméus.
The CEO and founder of Mansfield, Texas-based Siméus Foods International Inc. was one of the 54 presidential candidates who filed before the Sep. 15 registration deadline (see Haïti Progrès, Vol. 23, No. 28, 9/21/2005).
But on Sep. 23, Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) disqualified Siméus, 66, on the grounds that he made “false declarations” about his nationality, property holdings, and residency when applying to run. In fact, the CEP did not disqualify Siméus - as some news reports have incorrectly reported - under the Haitian Constitution’s Article 135 which states that presidential candidates must “never have renounced their nationality” by becoming the citizen of another nation and must “live in the country for five consecutive years before the date of elections.” But it certainly could have. In addition to being a naturalized U.S. citizen, Siméus has lived in the U.S. for the past 41 years. (The CEP disqualified 21 other candidates for a host of other reasons.)
A Texan and major Republican Party donor, Siméus is widely considered to be the Bush administration’s favorite candidate. His campaign manager, Robert Allyn, worked on the campaigns of both George W. Bush and Mexico’s president Vincente Fox (see Haïti Progrès, Vol. 23, No. 25, 8/31/2005).
Thus it is no surprise that during a 6-hour visit to Haiti on Sep. 27, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice publicly and pointedly called on Haiti’s de facto government to hold “inclusive” elections. Sources say that in private talks Rice pressed de facto Prime Minister Gérard Latortue for Siméus to be readmitted to the race.
Meanwhile, Siméus immediately appealed the CEP’s ruling to the Haitian Supreme Court. He claimed, among other things, that the CEP had based its ruling on “falsified and forged documents” which were not in his handwriting, and that the CEP had not filed its objections within the 72 hours prescribed by the electoral law.
On Oct. 11, the Supreme Court ruled in Siméus’ favor, ordering the CEP to put the Texan back on the ballot. The court said that the CEP’s charges of “false declarations” were just “suppositions and allegations with no juridical foundation” and, in fact, “inventions of the CEP.”
But two days later, Latortue, who had been diffident with Rice, dismissed the Supreme Court’s decision, saying that Siméus’ disqualification was a “settled matter” and that the Supreme Court could no longer rule on electoral matters. Along with de facto President Alexandre Boniface, Latortue also announced that the executive had formed a new Citizenship Verification Commission to investigate the nationality of all 34 candidates, several of whom are believed to have U.S., Canadian or French citizenship. Finally, on Oct. 15, Latortue installed a new executive director for the CEP, Jacques Bernard, a move long demanded by Washington. All these measures are Constitutionally-prohibited meddling of the executive in electoral affairs.
The CEP was also defiant. Two weeks ago, the CEP’s lawyer, André Joel Petit-homme, submitted a criminal complaint to Haiti’s chief prosecutor charging Siméus with making false claims, which can result in a three to five year prison term.
But, as we go to press, the CEP appears to have reversed itself. The AlterPresse service reports that the CEP will now recognize Siméus’ candidacy. “Nobody can put themselves above a decision by justice, that is a decision by the Supreme Court,” Petit-homme.now says.
The CEP has still not set a new date for the elections, which have been postponed from Nov. 20 to “mid-December.” But Latortue has vowed that a new government will be sworn in on Feb. 7, 2006 no matter what.
The “elections,” will cost an estimated $60 million, 90% of which comes from the U.S., European Union, and other international donors. The U.S. is giving $15 million in 2005, and gave $8.7 million last year.
Meanwhile, exiled President Aristide finally dispelled many rumors last week by putting out a statement through his spokeswoman Dr. Maryse Narcisse, who recently consulted with him in Pretoria, South Africa. In an Oct. 20 press release, Narcisse stated that “any claim that President Aristide sent letters, audio messages or met with representatives of any candidate looking for support in the elections-by-selection that the unconstitutional government is trying to organize is false.” She reiterated that Aristide was standing by the three conditions for elections that he articulated last month: “1. The thousands of Lavalas who are in jail and in exile must be free to return home; 2. The repression that has already killed over 10,000 people must end immediately; 3. Then, there must be national dialogue.”
On Oct. 19, the National Popular Party (PPN) also reiterated its opposition to “the elections-by-selection which the occupiers and the de factos are trying to give us.” The PPN criticized recent statement by Belair popular leader Sanba Boukman, in which he called candidates Marc Bazin and René Préval “both candidates of the people, that is candidates of the Lavalas, who should make a chain of unity to lead the people to peace and progress.”
The PPN responded that neither candidate represented the masses or the Lavalas and that “today, it is time for the progressive sector, the popular base organizations which have not been led astray, together with the masses, to organize themselves even more to oppose the coming dictatorship and the death plan of the IMF and World Bank.”
“All the candidates are just competing to show the occupiers that they are the best to carry out the repression and extend the misery which will result from implementing the occupiers’ agenda,” the PPN said.
