What's Going on In Haiti?

The vast majority of Haitians have been turned off on voting because of instability and allegations of voting fraud during the last few months.  Now the political partisans are organizing pro and anti-government rallies until a decision is taken about the future of Haiti's government.

Meanwhile, life goes on in Haiti--children go to school, parents sell their wares on street-corners, and the beautiful Caribbean sun shines.

Now that the American election cycle is fully underway, many people are experiencing fatigue from political commercials and ubiquitous coverage on the TV and Internet.  As much as politics puts us off, Americans and Canadians can be thankful that they do not have to endure politics in Haiti.  The final run-off presidential election in Haiti was scheduled for Dec. 27,....then Jan. 17,...and finally Jan. 24.  Under pressure from the opposition and because of attacks on voting centers, on Jan. 24 Haiti's electoral committee indefinitely postponed the final election.  Since the current president's term expires on February 6 according to the Haitian Constitution, the country is facing a full-fledged political crisis.  The reasons for this crisis are many and varied and do not make good public blog material for a missionary trying to keep his head down in his host country.  In summary, however, neither the president nor the opposition parties were able to organize an election in the last five years.  The result was that no official had a mandate to govern since early 2014 except the President.  Now that the President's five-year term is expiring, Haiti will no longer have a legitimate executive branch.  Haiti's politicians are now in eleventh-hour negotiations with the international community about the shape of a transitionary government whose mandate will be to hold elections.  In addition, many Haitians (especially the government opposition) see last fall's elections for the parliament as tainted, meaning that there will have to be a negotiation as to whether the entire election cycle will need to be redone or whether some results will be allowed to stand. In the midst of all this uncertainty, partisan political demonstrators have been marching en-masse up and down Haiti's main streets, blocking traffic and commerce.  Starting to get a headache?  You're not alone!  Please pray for a compromise so that Haiti can enjoy peace and stability.