ARTICLE - CONSTITUTION - SIMON DESRAS

HAITI CONSTITUTION: "PARLIAMENT HAS NOTHING TO DO IN THIS CASE" SAYS SIMON DIEUSEUL DESRAS
(Haiti Libre) -

Senator Simon Dieuseul Desras, President of the National Assembly, concerning the publication of the amended text of the Constitution, declared that the Head of State "was not qualified to publish the amendment that was voted, it was up to President Préval to do it and he did it, and that's all !

"...We never returned on what we said, we have never returned on our word. We have remained clear with the principle that the National Assembly voted an amendment, and as President of the National Assembly, [...] we always support the vote of the Assembly.

It is very unfortunate and regrettable, that the men of law of this country, have accepted or endorsed ; setting aside Mrs. Manigat, Dr. Dorval and many others, although they were not for the amendment, but who had the courage to say that the presidential decree had no authority to oppose the amendment. The decree was only entitled to prevent the enactment...

Today, the question is not on the table as a Senator or deputie, as soon as the National Assembly has finished an act, it is "functus officio". Now, the file is on the table of the Executive. If eggs are broken, they are on the table of the Executive, not on the table of Parliament. Parliament has nothing to do in this case [...], except that it is not normal that a law passed in the Senate of the Republic or in the Chamber of Deputies and that is in the drawer of the Executive [...] we demand that these laws are published automatically [...]

For me, the amendment has already been published, it is already in force. In the publication of the amendment, President Martelly has neither the right nor the authority today to say that he will publish the amendment. He may republish an amendment with erratas, but he does not have the qualifications to publish a Constitutional amendment that was voted. It was for President Préval to do it and he did so, and that's all!"