Haiti’s President Michel Martelly stepped down from his post Sunday without a successor in place, after a runoff to presidential elections was postponed twice due to allegations of fraud.
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“During its long road to the promised land, Haiti will remember that a certain Michel Joseph Martelly – Micky to his people – loved, gave, and built”, he said during his last address as president.
“This alleged agreement attempts to validate the 2015 elections as if they were regular, regardless of popular protests that resulted in numerous casualties”, opposition spokesman Samuel Madistin said in a statement.
Mr Martelly is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election but has thrown his weight behind Jovenel Moise, a banana exporter who won the first round of the presidential election in November.
The group, which includes the opposition candidate for the runoff, Jude Celestin, believes the parliamentarians, who were elected in the same flawed October first round, do not have the legitimacy to oversee the interim government or a new vote.
Martelly signed the agreement with National Assembly President Jocelerme Privert and Vice President Cholzer Chancy.
The transitional government will have a mandate of 120 days, during which it will be responsible for organizing elections to select the president in April.
Privert himself is among the “serious candidates”, according to several lawmakers, along with high-ranking Judge Jules Cantave. “We are courageous nation, a nation that has honor and an important history for the world”.
The deal announced Saturday says an interim government will rule until an elected leader can take office May 14.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for “calm and stability” in the Caribbean nation Monday, adding that the U.N. reaffirms its commitment to “offer full support to the Haitian people in the fulfillment of their democratic aspirations”.
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Haiti’s political crisis and instability dates back decades, with the legacy of colonization, occupation, US domination, and chronic poverty and violence compounded by the devastating 2010 natural disaster, from which the country is still recovering.
