Haiti President assassinated at his home; country in crisis [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Haiti President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his home in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, July 7.
• Haiti has been in increasing political turmoil over the past years, in large part due to the president’s controversies.
• Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph has assumed leadership of the country after the attack.

A squad of unidentified, Spanish-speaking gunmen attacked Haitian President Jovenel Moise in the wee hours on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, at his private home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Initial reports said that First Lady Martine Moise was also shot and is in a critical condition.

The assassination came at a time when Haiti is facing a great political turmoil, with its increasing gang violence and bloody protests, owing to Moise’s authoritarian rule. It has been known that Haiti’s opposition movement has long campaigned for Moise to resign.

The opposition has been quite vocal of accusing Moise of rampant corruption and economic instability — the primary reasons why many have disputed his right to continue leading the country as president.

Moise’s unpopular stance in governance sparked outrage which led to an argument that he should have stepped down in early February this year, based from Haiti’s constitutional provision.

Moise, however, disputed this claim and said that his five-year term should end in 2022. This has been supported by the United States, the United Nations, and Organization of American States.

With the increasing political tension, no national and local elections were held, which was a clear mark of failure in the country’s bid to institution building.

The assassination now poised a greater question: Who takes over the presidency?

According to Judge Jean Wilner Morin, president of the National Association of Haitian Judges, this would likely be a dismal truth as the country’s prime government seats are empty.

Morin furthered that Haiti’s Supreme Court President would normally be next in line, however, that position has been vacant since previous holder René Sylvestre recently died of COVID-19.

Presently, Haiti’s acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph assumed leadership of the country in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Yet for him to formally and legally replace the President, he would have to seek approval from Haiti’s parliament, which is currently partially empty and effectively defunct.

To make matters worse, Moise had previously appointed another Prime Minister, Dr. Ariel Henry, on July 5. “So, we are in a situation today where we have two Prime Ministers. One Prime Minister who is in office, and another one legally appointed by the President. So, which of these two Prime Ministers should take the reins of the country?” Morin said.

Amid the chaos, the acting Prime Minister appealed for calm, saying he did not want the nation to further “plunge into chaos.”

“The security situation in the country is under the control of the Haitian National Police and the Haitian Armed Forces,” Joseph said.

He also called on the international community “to launch an investigation into the assassination and for the United Nations to hold a Security Council meeting on Haiti as soon as possible.”

Source: CNN.com