When Jocelerme Privert Envisions the Future of Executive Power

PORT-AU-PRINCE — “A Statesman Facing the Nation” was the theme of this special broadcast, in which former president Jocelerme Privert participated this Monday, June 30, on Scoop FM, as part of the Haiti Débat segment hosted by Gary Pierre-Paul Charles.

*Possible Scenarios*

According to the former president, elected by parliament through indirect suffrage in 2016, the country could once again adopt Ariel Henry's governance model. “It is highly probable that Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé will remain in office after the departure of the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT),” he stated.

Jocelerme Privert presented two possible scenarios: “If elections are held, Fils-Aimé will remain in office until parliament ratifies the appointment of a new Prime Minister. In the worst-case scenario, with a CPT mandate ending on February 7, 2026, in accordance with the April 3 agreement, and in the absence of an elected president, the Council of Ministers will exercise executive power under the direction of the Prime Minister.”

Privert’s predictions echo the situation in 2021, following the death of President Jovenel Moïse, which had created a constitutional vacuum on this specific issue. However, aware that similar causes lead to similar effects in similar contexts, he urges the actors involved to work to avoid repeating these errors.

*On Electoral Funding*

Recalling significant moments of his 2016 mandate, particularly his commitment to organizing elections entirely funded by the public treasury, Privert insists on the material impossibility of holding general elections in the country in less than seven months, given current conditions.

“Funds that could be used to build high schools, hospitals, and other essential infrastructure should not be wasted on elections that do not ensure the expected stability,” he declared, emphasizing the importance of ensuring the sovereign nature of elections by funding them exclusively with internal funds.

The tax specialist also criticized the current government for its incapacity. “No one should wish for the failure of this transition. The CPT’s failure would be a failure for the country,” he asserted, criticizing the presidential advisors who, according to him, take an oath on the constitution while having been appointed in total disregard of it.

“The creation of a transitional presidential council to lead the country was a major political error,” Privert concluded, believing that stakeholders could have opted for more judicious alternatives than a nine-member presidential college.

Jean Mapou