By Claude Henri M. Bastien
Pragmatism plays a very big role in democracy. When established norms cannot resolve crises, actors draw suggestions from the symbolic and natural environment of society. This was recently the approach of CARICOM and local political actors to facilitate the installation of a 9-member Presidential Transitional Council (CPT-9). Nothing is foolproof in the quest for a peaceful solution. Thus, the State University of Haiti (UEH) and its University Council (CU) can learn lessons to do without its obsolete resolutions with a view to salutary measures in favor of the Institute of Studies and African Research of Haiti (IERAH). One of the obsolete resolutions would be the resumption of the second round of the August 10, 2023 elections to the IERAH based on alleged irregularities.
On the other hand, the salutary measures that we are talking about refer to two things: consideration of the results of the elections of August 10, 2023 deemed credible by the majority of observers and the installation of the elected decanal council. It is more logical since it is not normal for a large institution like the UEH to flounder in gratuitous electoral crises orchestrated by the president of its Central Electoral Commission (CEC-UEH), who intends to run for office. post of editor. And he finds it appropriate to invalidate the results at the IERAH following false challenges to keep a friend or brother-in-law in office.
In a letter from the dean elected to the Rectorate we highlighted 4 supporting points explaining the lack of weight in the losers’ protests. The said letter reveals as in all electoral processes, there may be irregularities during the elections at the IERAH, but these alleged irregularities have no effect on the electoral day, the counting of ballots and the final results at the IERAH . Otherwise, Professor Dérinx Petit-Jean, president of the Electoral Commission (EC) of the entity, was not going to publish the final results of these elections on August 18, 2023. He even invited the losers to check all the voting materials .
The elected dean (Dr. Rhodner J. Orisma) won the elections with 278 votes against 177 for the losing side (Dr. Sterlin Ulysse) while the vice-dean for Research (Prof. Marc H. Renaudin) collected 259 votes against 168 against his opponent (Dr Kesler Bien-Aimé). Elected in the first round on July 19, 2023, the vice-dean for Academic Affairs (James Pierre) is not mentioned in these statistics. It’s very clear. This is why, while awaiting the publication of a credible contradictory version, we consider the following 4 supporting points extracted from the letter from the dean elected to the CU dated March 25, 2024. The justifications relate to:
1. Ineligibility of the president of the Electoral Commission (EC) of the entity
Yet the president was eligible. But whether the president is eligible or not has nothing to do with Election Day and who wins these elections. Voters voted freely for their favorite candidates and there was no ballot stuffing. The problem of ineligibility is rather marked by the negligence of the General Secretariat and the Deanery which approved the members of the Commission [Electorale] being formed more than a year and a half before the elections.
Furthermore, new professors who have the same status as the president had the right to vote. They voted during the two rounds, [et le doyen sortant avait gagné le premier tour]. However, (…) once he failed in the second round declared the President of the Commission ineligible. What electoral maneuver? It’s really unbelievable !
Later, let’s see the same president who organized the two rounds of elections which took place on July 19 and August 10, 2023! Then, the first round is validated and the second round is said to be invalidated. Why this policy of double standards? This could be explained by the fact that the dean and one of his allies won the first round. Consequently, the idea of overhauling the entire process would risk affecting the dean’s ally who is elected in the first round as Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs.
2. Non-participation of the History, Memoirs and Heritage (HMP) master’s degree in the elections
The master’s degree did not participate because it was considered a separate entity given its late insertion into the Institute. As a result, she did not participate in the two previous elections organized between 2013 and 2018. To this end, during the meeting of the EC in June 2023 with the candidates, none of the said candidates present at the said meeting managed to convince the CE for the inclusion of master’s students.
Based on a question of principle, the EC was clear in these terms: “The elections are claimed in a spontaneous manner, it will be up to the elected Dean and all the members of the IERAH to decide on the participation of the mastery through a resolution. This resolution should come into force during the next elections. »
3. Non-authorization of mandates among administration employees during the second round
Almost a month before the second round of elections on August 10, 2023, the representative of the Rectorate to the EC of the IERAH had to promote the idea of no longer allowing employees to use mandates. Having to be present at the Institute every day, employees are not entitled to mandates. This measure is taken following rumors of false mandates in circulation among employees during the first round.
4. Irregular mandates
There were no false mandates contrary to what the losers made people believe during the second round. Two principals who were normally contacted authorized their mandate. For personal reasons, one principal did not send a document while the other sent the document late. As a result, these mandates were canceled by the beneficiaries and the EC before the elections. There is no longer any question of speaking since their mandates have been cancelled.
So, let us remember that the two mandates mentioned in this situation were already canceled before the elections and were therefore not voted on. They were not counted. According to all these explanations, nothing bad happened in the elections. As in any election, there can be misunderstandings, negligible irregularities or incidences. So nothing serious needs to be reported to the extent of invalidating the final results of August 10, 2023 relating to these elections.
Following this situation, the IERAH is at a standstill. Desolation and discouragement covered their faces. Professors and students feel uncomfortable with the presence of a de facto deanship. However, since last February, the country’s security crisis has masked the moral and physical bankruptcy of the deanship and the electoral crisis of the Institute. Several provocations were recorded on campus. Despite its discretion, the Institute community does not take pleasure in any deviation. Contacted on this subject, the elected dean was very brief: “I no longer want to talk about these elections. I leave everything to God who sees that they are walking on the will and “blood” of the voters. We will remain silent and the Lord will fight for us.”
At the end of its rope, the regime of outgoing rector Fritz Deshomme finds its hands tied in a very complex situation. So, Mr. Deshomme is hesitating about the installation of a provisional council for the benefit of the elected council. The new elected dean is well regarded by everyone at the Institute for his dynamism and his sense of compromise. It can help the UEH in managing crises and conflicts from its installation. Being colleagues, he and the outgoing dean, we hope that they will collaborate for the smooth running of the Institute.
Student protest (October 16, 2023) against the attempted unjust invalidation of the election results (August 18, 2023) in Ierah-Iserss, Ueh.
Claude Henri M. Bastien
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