A constitutional referendum is planned to be held in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

in 2022. It is the first referendum in the country since

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, and was unilaterally proposed by the administration of

Jovenel Moïse Jovenel Moïse (; ; 26 June 1968 – 7 July 2021) was a Haitian entrepreneur and politician, who served as the 43rd President of Haiti from 2017 until his assassination in 2021. He was sworn in as president in February 2017 after winning the ...

. Originally set to be held on 27 June 2021, the referendum was postponed to 26 September 2021, on the same day as the

presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

and

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

elections. The referendum was again postponed to 7 November. Acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry later postponed it to February 2022.

Background

In the absence of a Constitutional Council, a Permanent Electoral Council, and a functioning

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, there was ambiguity as to the end of President Jovenel Moïse's term of office. While he believed that his term would end on 7 February 2022, having been elected in the elections of November 2016 and taking office on 7 February 2017 for a presidential mandate of 5 years, the opposition and civil society groups — including Haiti's Conseil Supérieur du Pouvoir Judiciaire (CSPJ) and Federation of Haitian Bar associations — said the term ended 7 February 2021. On that day, the Supreme Council of the Judiciary declared the end of the Moses' term, while the government announced that it had foiled an attempted coup. The next day, the opposition announced that it would appoint Judge

Joseph Mécène Jean-Louis Joseph Mécène Jean-Louis (born 3 June 1949) is a Haitian judge serving on the Supreme Court of Haiti who was declared interim president by opponents seeking to end the rule of Jovenel Moïse Jovenel Moïse (; ; 26 June 1968 – 7 July 2021 ...

as interim president for a two-year transition period, alongside the drafting of a new constitution during a period of a national conference.

Proposed changes

The referendum would bring a number of proposed changes to the constitution of Haiti, including: * Abolition of the

and creation of a unicameral legislature * Abolition of the post of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

(thereby changing from a

semi-presidential system A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...

to a full

presidential system A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...

of government) ** Creation of an office of

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

to replace the Prime Minister * Modification of the electoral system for presidential elections, changing from a

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

to one held in one round under

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

* Moving regular legislative elections to coincide with presidential elections every five years * Modification of the presidential term limit, allowing two consecutive five-year terms (removing the requirement for a five-year interval before being eligible to serve again for a final term). Additionally, the incumbent will be prohibited from running in the next presidential election following the adoption of the new constitution * Allowing Haitian citizens with dual nationality to run for, or serve in, high office, including president (local and deputy elections included, provided habitual residence is proven), as well as allocating Haitians abroad no less than 5% of legislative seats *Mandatory military and/or civic service for those turning 18 years of age *Constitutional amendments need approval in the legislature and then in a referendum, rather than in two votes in the legislature before and after general elections

Postponement

On 7 June, the government announced that it would be postponing the referendum, stating the

COVID-19 pandemic in Haiti The COVID-19 pandemic in Haiti is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached Haiti in March 2020. The index case wa ...

and difficulties the electoral council faced in recruiting and training electoral staff as reasons. The government announced the new date of 26 September 2021 for the referendum. After the

assassination of Jovenel Moïse Jovenel Moïse, the president of Haiti, was assassinated on 7 July 2021 at 1 a.m. EDT (UTC−04:00) at his residence. A group of 28 foreign mercenaries, mostly Colombians, are alleged to be responsible for the killing. First Lady Marti ...

and a

major earthquake Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or "size" of an earthquake. These are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of ground shaking (quaking) caused by an earthquake at ...

, the

Provisional Electoral Council The Provisional Electoral Council ( French: ''Conseil Électoral Provisoire'', , CEP; Haitian Creole: ''Konsèy Elektoral Pwovizwa'') was the electoral commission of Haiti. The body had the sole agency responsible for presidential elections and ...

delayed the referendum to 7 November 2021. The acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry however later dissolved the electoral council and stated on 29 September that he planned to hold the referendum in February 2022.

References

{{Haitian elections 2022 in Haiti

Initiatives and referendums in Haiti Constitutional referendums in Haiti Future referendums