On May 11, 2025, the constitutional referendum did not take place!
By La Rédaction · Port-au-Prince
· 8 min read · Updated 24 April 2026
Translated from French — AI-assisted and reviewed by the editorial team. The French version is authoritative. Read the original · About our translation policy
The constitutional referendum launched by the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT) ultimately did not take place on May 11, 2025, despite this date having been set by a Provisional Electoral Council that is no longer mentioned today.
Preparations for its holding, as well as those for the national conference intended to decide — illegally — on the repeal of the 1987 Constitution, had mobilized considerable sums. But all of this amounted to nothing.
Meanwhile, the CPT, a body whose very existence is contested by the majority of citizens, continues its maneuvers nonetheless. It is now learned that it is approaching CARICOM to request a two-year extension of its mandate, beyond February 7, 2026, its expiration date. This is beyond grotesque! The Haitian people, composed mainly of rural and urban masses, as a major actor in destiny and history, must thwart the cunning technocrats, businessmen, churchmen, and intellectuals with sad and negative ideas and actions who thrive in the chaos and destruction of Haiti.
With this stateless and visionless political class, the nation has hit rock bottom. For these sinister figures, both anarchic and corrupt, the people — yet the sole repository of national sovereignty according to the 1987 Constitution, of which they are the authors — are no longer the source of power or democratic legitimacy. In their eyes, it is now CARICOM, this regional body acting as a kind of Washington outsourcing factory, that embodies authority. It is to them, alas, that this illegitimate CPT has turned to request a reprieve.
What we are witnessing transcends national tragedy.
These So-Called Leftists
Who could have imagined that all factions of the Haitian left in power, united within this governmental coalition, would be capable of causing such moral and political degradation, jeopardizing our country's national sovereignty? Beyond this shame, the actions of these figures, true political monsters, constitute a kind of insult to the Haitian people.
Faced with such behavior, which devalues our nation, must we accept this situation? Must we continue to remain passive, like a people devoid of value, in the face of the alienation of our sovereignty? A sovereignty that nevertheless resides in the general will, which allows the people to freely choose their representatives through democratic elections. These individuals, who currently exercise power without the consent of the people, have no right to question the country's sovereignty, for it belongs to the people, and every citizen holds a share of it, according to the fundamental principle of equality. It is more necessary than ever to react to this affront. We have seen everything with this political class, aided by a civil society under international control. These two groups have established an abnormal regime with totalitarian ideas through a CPT, vested with the power to revoke and appoint whomever it wishes within the judiciary and to promulgate decrees on all matters of public interest without debate. This CPT can dismiss the Prime Minister, head of the public administration, who is its subordinate from whom it received its authority. A CPT that is not subject to any type of control. It is absolute! This is the government of corrupt Haitian elites. Every people gets the government it deserves. It is this form of government that Western powers, always ready to give lessons in democracy, impose on the leadership of Haiti. Since the time of René Préval, this "special" president who led Haiti twice, the issue of constitutional reform, though necessary, has often been used as a pretext to allow certain mafia groups to enrich themselves, to the detriment of the nation's real needs. In this mafia enterprise of continuous constitutional reforms, forty million US dollars were wasted under the administration of Jovenel Moïse and Claude Joseph in a referendum project that never materialized. The amendments made in 2011 under the Préval administration did not improve the 1987 text in any way, nor did they advance Haitian law. It was a futile work, without any political or legal value. I have repeated it several times: the 1987 text, by its dual legitimacy, remains the foundation of every Haitian's life. That is why it is destined to endure. What Matters to Them is Money
What we observe today are financial realities dominating certain groups, rather than a genuine desire to clean up the foundational text of 1987, by purging it of its confusions, imprecisions, ambiguities, and, in some cases, its contradictions.
One can make money without succumbing to avarice. Our country, which is in urgent need of development, must be able to count on elites who firmly believe that true wealth comes from work, from production in quantity and quality, and not from the exploitation of vain, futile, and corruptible things. Such practices, within our elites, can only further engulf the country in decay and degeneration. Ill-gotten gains, derived from the public treasury, will only benefit those who seized them for a short time. As the Bible says: “The love of money is the root of all evil.” These evils, harmful to our collective well-being, relentlessly continue to cause the dysfunction of our administrative system. However, effective judicial treatment can emerge when conditions conducive to good governance are established. Regaining control of money, mastering capital, as preached by the new Marxists, can only be achieved through a policy of personal enrichment. These former shoddy communists have today converted to economic neo-liberalism, undoubtedly after discovering too late the importance and power of money. This justifies their greed and manifest unworthiness. Thus, the greenback has been used by the United States as the main lever of seduction to definitively annihilate the Haitian left, which made the fight against imperialism the driving force and fundamental reason for its political action in Haiti, an imperialism largely embodied by the United States. For some observers, who still believed in leftist and anti-imperialist discourse, this spectacular turnaround in the actions of these politicians, guided by the pursuit of easy money at all costs, speaks volumes about the country's future. A few years ago, I expressed concerns about the possibility of Haiti being transformed into a transnational territory, under the control of a global power, where leaders would be mere local agents. And that is exactly what is happening today. Dr. Sauveur Pierre Étienne has repeated it several times: the members of the CPT are not only criminals but individuals on a mission. This statement deserves to be examined, at a time when it is becoming difficult to deny that our country is trapped in this context of global geopolitical recomposition, a prelude to a confrontation between rival powers. For these leaders without popular support, imposed at the head of our country by small arrangements, as well as their international patrons who try to build a democracy without the people, money, even if it comes from corruption, becomes an essential tool to wage political war, especially in view of electoral battles in this imposed and controlled democracy. For them, taking control of the state and its administration for economic purposes, in the pursuit of unhealthy objectives, becomes the only way to spend public funds to ensure their political survival. Let's Fight for a Return to the Rule of Law
I repeat: the only wealth of a statesman lies in his faith and belief in the future of his country. The real war to fear is the one that causes the disappearance of our institutions. It is imperative to teach our politicians that keeping institutions alive is the best policy. There is a whole grammar to rediscover and learn there.
This unprecedented moment of disarray reasonably makes us think that we are about to lose our country. Our great sadness lies not only in the renunciation by these de facto leaders of what is essential to us — the preservation of our independence — but in the inability of those who perceive the threat to be able to counter it. Enemy nations have paved the way for the destruction of Haiti by imposing mediocre and corrupt leaders at its head. God loves justice and hates corruption as well as injustice. When citizens suffer because of corruption, our God sees it. What must we do now to save Haiti from destruction? Are we going to cross our arms, continue to groan and lament, allowing CARICOM the possibility of renewing a corrupt and criminal government at the head of our republic? Criminals are taking international steps to remain in power, seeking to obtain a presidential mandate without a popular mandate. So, what should be our action within the country? Corruption is neither a prospect for peace, nor justice, nor the future. It is violence and it mortgages the hope of present and future generations. It must be fought with a greater violence: that of our determination, our struggle, our conviction, our patriotic actions with a view to a return to the rule of law, in order to change life in Haiti.
We understand their strategy: they steal money from the treasury to buy citizens' votes in the next elections. But they are gravely mistaken: the people's answer is already prepared and etched on all walls. It is this: Where is the money for the Siclair commission?
Where is the money for the small presidential project?
Where is the central bank's gold?
Where is the Petro Caribe money?
Where is the money for Jovenel Moise's referendum?
Where is the money for the CPT's national conference?
Where is the money for the CPT's constitutional referendum that was supposed to take place on May 11, 2025?
Where is the money for the palace intelligence service?
Corruption is the violence of the elites against the people.
“No money, but there are ropes.” Sonet Saint-Louis, Esq.
Professor of Constitutional Law and Methodology at the Faculty of Law and Economics of the State University of Haiti. Under the bamboos
La Gonave, May 11, 2025.
sonet.saintlouis@gmail.com
Who could have imagined that all factions of the Haitian left in power, united within this governmental coalition, would be capable of causing such moral and political degradation, jeopardizing our country's national sovereignty? Beyond this shame, the actions of these figures, true political monsters, constitute a kind of insult to the Haitian people.
Faced with such behavior, which devalues our nation, must we accept this situation? Must we continue to remain passive, like a people devoid of value, in the face of the alienation of our sovereignty? A sovereignty that nevertheless resides in the general will, which allows the people to freely choose their representatives through democratic elections. These individuals, who currently exercise power without the consent of the people, have no right to question the country's sovereignty, for it belongs to the people, and every citizen holds a share of it, according to the fundamental principle of equality. It is more necessary than ever to react to this affront. We have seen everything with this political class, aided by a civil society under international control. These two groups have established an abnormal regime with totalitarian ideas through a CPT, vested with the power to revoke and appoint whomever it wishes within the judiciary and to promulgate decrees on all matters of public interest without debate. This CPT can dismiss the Prime Minister, head of the public administration, who is its subordinate from whom it received its authority. A CPT that is not subject to any type of control. It is absolute! This is the government of corrupt Haitian elites. Every people gets the government it deserves. It is this form of government that Western powers, always ready to give lessons in democracy, impose on the leadership of Haiti. Since the time of René Préval, this "special" president who led Haiti twice, the issue of constitutional reform, though necessary, has often been used as a pretext to allow certain mafia groups to enrich themselves, to the detriment of the nation's real needs. In this mafia enterprise of continuous constitutional reforms, forty million US dollars were wasted under the administration of Jovenel Moïse and Claude Joseph in a referendum project that never materialized. The amendments made in 2011 under the Préval administration did not improve the 1987 text in any way, nor did they advance Haitian law. It was a futile work, without any political or legal value. I have repeated it several times: the 1987 text, by its dual legitimacy, remains the foundation of every Haitian's life. That is why it is destined to endure. What Matters to Them is Money
What we observe today are financial realities dominating certain groups, rather than a genuine desire to clean up the foundational text of 1987, by purging it of its confusions, imprecisions, ambiguities, and, in some cases, its contradictions.
One can make money without succumbing to avarice. Our country, which is in urgent need of development, must be able to count on elites who firmly believe that true wealth comes from work, from production in quantity and quality, and not from the exploitation of vain, futile, and corruptible things. Such practices, within our elites, can only further engulf the country in decay and degeneration. Ill-gotten gains, derived from the public treasury, will only benefit those who seized them for a short time. As the Bible says: “The love of money is the root of all evil.” These evils, harmful to our collective well-being, relentlessly continue to cause the dysfunction of our administrative system. However, effective judicial treatment can emerge when conditions conducive to good governance are established. Regaining control of money, mastering capital, as preached by the new Marxists, can only be achieved through a policy of personal enrichment. These former shoddy communists have today converted to economic neo-liberalism, undoubtedly after discovering too late the importance and power of money. This justifies their greed and manifest unworthiness. Thus, the greenback has been used by the United States as the main lever of seduction to definitively annihilate the Haitian left, which made the fight against imperialism the driving force and fundamental reason for its political action in Haiti, an imperialism largely embodied by the United States. For some observers, who still believed in leftist and anti-imperialist discourse, this spectacular turnaround in the actions of these politicians, guided by the pursuit of easy money at all costs, speaks volumes about the country's future. A few years ago, I expressed concerns about the possibility of Haiti being transformed into a transnational territory, under the control of a global power, where leaders would be mere local agents. And that is exactly what is happening today. Dr. Sauveur Pierre Étienne has repeated it several times: the members of the CPT are not only criminals but individuals on a mission. This statement deserves to be examined, at a time when it is becoming difficult to deny that our country is trapped in this context of global geopolitical recomposition, a prelude to a confrontation between rival powers. For these leaders without popular support, imposed at the head of our country by small arrangements, as well as their international patrons who try to build a democracy without the people, money, even if it comes from corruption, becomes an essential tool to wage political war, especially in view of electoral battles in this imposed and controlled democracy. For them, taking control of the state and its administration for economic purposes, in the pursuit of unhealthy objectives, becomes the only way to spend public funds to ensure their political survival. Let's Fight for a Return to the Rule of Law
I repeat: the only wealth of a statesman lies in his faith and belief in the future of his country. The real war to fear is the one that causes the disappearance of our institutions. It is imperative to teach our politicians that keeping institutions alive is the best policy. There is a whole grammar to rediscover and learn there.
This unprecedented moment of disarray reasonably makes us think that we are about to lose our country. Our great sadness lies not only in the renunciation by these de facto leaders of what is essential to us — the preservation of our independence — but in the inability of those who perceive the threat to be able to counter it. Enemy nations have paved the way for the destruction of Haiti by imposing mediocre and corrupt leaders at its head. God loves justice and hates corruption as well as injustice. When citizens suffer because of corruption, our God sees it. What must we do now to save Haiti from destruction? Are we going to cross our arms, continue to groan and lament, allowing CARICOM the possibility of renewing a corrupt and criminal government at the head of our republic? Criminals are taking international steps to remain in power, seeking to obtain a presidential mandate without a popular mandate. So, what should be our action within the country? Corruption is neither a prospect for peace, nor justice, nor the future. It is violence and it mortgages the hope of present and future generations. It must be fought with a greater violence: that of our determination, our struggle, our conviction, our patriotic actions with a view to a return to the rule of law, in order to change life in Haiti.
We understand their strategy: they steal money from the treasury to buy citizens' votes in the next elections. But they are gravely mistaken: the people's answer is already prepared and etched on all walls. It is this: Where is the money for the Siclair commission?
Where is the money for the small presidential project?
Where is the central bank's gold?
Where is the Petro Caribe money?
Where is the money for Jovenel Moise's referendum?
Where is the money for the CPT's national conference?
Where is the money for the CPT's constitutional referendum that was supposed to take place on May 11, 2025?
Where is the money for the palace intelligence service?
Corruption is the violence of the elites against the people.
“No money, but there are ropes.” Sonet Saint-Louis, Esq.
Professor of Constitutional Law and Methodology at the Faculty of Law and Economics of the State University of Haiti. Under the bamboos
La Gonave, May 11, 2025.
sonet.saintlouis@gmail.com
