afloweroutofstone: The current crisis in Haiti is an example of how designing Constitutions can pose
afloweroutofstone: The current crisis in Haiti is an example of how designing Constitutions can pose large, unexpected problems. The Haitian constitution says that a President takes office “on the February 7 following the date of the elections.” However, the current President Jovenel Moïse won a first round of elections in 2015, which were marred by irregularities. It wasn’t until 2016 that the second round was held, which he also won; he took office on February 7, 2017. But because there were two rounds of elections in separate years, there is now disagreement about which round of elections the Constitutional phrase “the date of the elections” refers to, and thus when Moïse’s five-year term ends: either February 2021 (which would be the case if one goes off of the 2015 election), or February 2022 (the case if one goes off the 2016 elections).Because Moïse has remained in power past the February 2021 date that many believe should have marked the end of his term, there is now widespread protest against his administration, at times turning into clashes between his supporters and opponents. The situation is made worse because Moïse recently issued decrees removing three members of Haiti’s Supreme Court and replacing them with his own judges, tainting the legitimacy of any ruling made by the nation’s highest court on the matter. -- source link