ARTICLE - NEGATIVE REACTIONS TO PM

NEGATIVE REACTIONS AND CRITICISM FOLLOWING THE RATIFICATION OF THE PRIME MINISTER
(Haiti Libre) -

The ratification of the Prime Minister-designate, Laurent Lamothe on Thursday, May 3, 2102, in the Lower House, by 62 votes in favor and 3 against (the deputies: Arnel Bélizaire (Delmas), Sorel Jacinthe (Moron / Chambellan - INITE) et Sadrac Dieudonné (Gonaives - MOCHRENHA) raises serious negative reactions from some parliamentarians and politicians...

Sauveur Pierre Étienne, Coordinator General of the party Struggling People's Organization OPL, declared that the vote of the deputies who ratified Laurent Lamothe, was "a vote of shame [...] which does not honor the deputies." According to the deputy, parliamentarians have defended their own interests over those of the population. He does not believe that the new prime minister will be able to work for the welfare of the population, because of the pressures that exist within the current government. Nevertheless, he ensures that the OPL will remain in "the constructive opposition."

Evans Paul, the leader of the Konvasyon Inite Demokratik (KID), criticized for his part, "a session of indecency, which confirmed the shame of the Senate of the Republic on April 10. [...] It is a pity that parliamentarians are inventing a concept of a political vote to violate the Constitution. No parliamentarian should approve the record of an aspirant to the Prime Minister if his record is not correct". He believes that Laurent Lamothe was not eligible according to what is prescribed in the Constitution, and that the deputies and senators have violated the Constitution, and should render account before the High Court of Justice. Moreover, according to him, there is influence-peddling in the government in power, and he wishes that the Unit for Combating Corruption (ULCC) and the Central Unit of Financial Information (UCREF) shed light on the allegations of Deputy Fritz Gérald Bourjolly, who claimed earlier in the meeting that his colleagues had each received 3.5 million gourdes through fictitious projects, to ratify the Prime Minister-designate.

For the Responsible of the Patriotic Movement of November 28 (MNP-28),the former Senator Dejean Belizaire, the meeting on Thursday took place, "outside the constitutional norms. This was primarily a political and non-technical vote", pleading for a government of national unity.

Deputy Jeantel Joseph, Executive Secretary of the Union of Citizens for Progress and Development of Education (UCADDE) recognizes that this was a political vote, but he said that he accepts the decision of the majority of deputies.

The Rapporteur of the Commission, deputy Vikens Dérilus, confirms that there have been irregularities in this dossier, but said that the Commission had not been able to prove the truth of the allegations against the candidate for Prime Minister.