Haiti: Thousands call for elections – demand for Martelly to step down

Haitian President Michel Martelly. PHOTO/File

Thousands of Haitians took to the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince Thursday to demand that President Michel Martelly step down and new elections be held.

Opposition chiefs marched at the front of the demonstration down several streets of the capital.

According to Turneb Delpe, a former senator, Haitians are demanding that both President Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe step down as they “no longer have the confidence of the people”. “We want elections, the people no longer trust these leaders”, he added.

Legislative elections for around 100 members of the Chamber of Deputies, 20 senators and municipal leaders are set to take place on October 26 after multiple delays, but the various political parties are divided over the makeup of the electoral body, seen as subservient to the executive branch.

The main opposition parties have rejected the deal setting up the polls, brokered by the first Haitian cardinal in the Catholic Church, Chibly Langlois.

Martelly and a dozen senators have been meeting to try to defuse the crisis but they failed to reach agreement on potential new leaders at the Provisional Electoral Council.

Source: AFP