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 Sen.
Moïse Jean-Charles calls it the “vote of shame” and “a scandal.”
On Apr, 10, 19 of Haiti’s 30
Senators approved the technical qualifications of Laurent
Lamothe, President Joseph Michel Martelly’s prime ministerial
nominee, despite vociferous objections and questions raised
during a heated late-night session before the vote.
A special Senate commission
investigating the alleged illegal dual nationality of Lamothe,
Martelly and several other high Haitian government officials
recommended that the nominee not be approved due to indications
that he did not met constitutional requirements for nationality,
residency and the timely payment of taxes.
But pro-Martelly Sen. Wenceslas
Lambert dismissed such questions, vigorously raised by
Jean-Charles and colleague Sen. Stephen Benoit, as mere
“details.”
Another special Senate
commission reviewed whether Lamothe met the legal requirements
to become Martelly’s second Prime Minister, following Garry Conille’s forced resignation on Feb. 24. That commission was
packed with pro-Martelly senators, many of whom wear pink
bracelets (Martelly’s official campaign color), and not
surprisingly recommended that the nominee be approved.
Six senators walked out of the
vote in protest. “I stayed to vote ‘no’ because I wanted our
arguments about the patent deficiencies of Mr. Lamothe’s
qualifications to go down in the historical record,” Sen.
Jean-Charles told Haïti Liberté. “I was truly shocked at
the betrayal of certain principles by certain senators,
particularly Joel John Joseph and Maxime Roumer.”
 Sen. Jean-Charles explained to
Haïti Liberté how Sen. Joseph had feigned to be
collaborating with him in an effort to block Lamothe’s approval.
“But then, after we had strategized, every few minutes I would see him go over to
whisper in the ear of Sen. Joseph Lambert,” one of Martelly’s
greatest allies in the Senate, Jean-Charles said. “When I asked
him what he was saying to Lambert, he claimed it was just
procedural questions.”
“Imagine my surprise to see
Sen. Joseph’s hand shoot up when the vote on Lamothe’s
qualifications finally came,” Jean-Charles said, shaking his
head. “Many senators sold out because Lamothe offered them money
and jobs in the Haitian diplomatic service for their wives,
girlfriends, or cousins.”
Lamothe is still Haiti’s Acting
Foreign Minister.
According to another
well-placed source, for his “yes” vote, Sen. Dérex L.
Pierre-Louis, who represents the Northeast Department for former
President René Préval’s party Inite, was promised jobs in the
Haitian foreign service for 15 of his family members, including
three of his children, two of whom live in the Dominican
Republic. A son of Sen. Pierre-Louis already acts as Lamothe’s
security chief.
Sen. Jean-Charles, who met with
Haïti Liberté during a brief visit this week to Florida,
said that in exchange for their votes, some senators were given
envelopes of cash – some containing $100,000, others containing
$120,000. That was only the first of two payments.
“Senate President [Simon
Dieuseul] Desras called for another vote on the budget after the
vote on Lamothe,” Sen. Jean-Charles said. “Only three
uncorrupted senators showed up for that vote because the second
installment of the money for the corrupt senators was not yet
forthcoming.”
One of Sen. Jean-Charles’
biggest surprises was when Sen. Jean-Maxime Roumer, who
represents the Grande Anse Department for Inite, voted to
approve Lamothe. “Here is a guy who claims to be a communist,
whom I knew from years ago when I was a militant in the National
Popular Assembly [APN],” Jean-Charles said. “How can he justify
selling his principles to vote for Lamothe?”
According to Jean-Charles,
during the session, Sen. Desras passed a note to Sen. Roumer
sarcastically saying that he would be giving Roumer a pink
bracelet following the session. After the vote, Roumer crumpled
up the piece of paper into a ball and threw it at Desras,
hitting him on the right side of his face.
“Kolanget manman ou (Fuck
you!)” Roumer yelled in Kreyòl at Desras, according to
Jean-Charles.
A special commission of the
Chamber of Deputies is now reviewing 59 documents which Lamothe
submitted to it on Apr. 23. That commission said it would give
its recommendation in two weeks.
The political stakes in Haiti’s
Senate are about to get even higher. On May 14, the mandates of
10 senators expire, including those of key Martelly allies
Joseph Lambert and Youri Latortue. How this will affect the math
and strategizing of different political forces in the weeks
ahead remains to be seen. But one thing remains clear: in
Haiti’s Senate at least, money talks.
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