Haiti
More on Haiti
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), a strong advocate for the Haitian people in the U.S. Congress, spoke today from the House floor in support of H.R. 1016 - Assessing Progress in Haiti Act. The bill later passed the House without opposition.
Below are the Congresswoman's remarks as prepared for delivery:
"I rise to support this bill to measure the progress of recovery efforts in Haiti following last year's devastating earthquake, and I thank my friend and colleague, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, for introducing this bill.
The House Financial Services Committee adopted an amendment by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) to conduct oversight over the situation in Haiti one year after a devastating earthquake and relief and reconstruction efforts in the country. She offered the amendment jointly with Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) during a markup of the Committee's oversight plan for the 112th Congress. The amendment was adopted by the Committee without opposition by a voice vote.
by Clarens Renois
Haiti's fraud-tainted ruling party candidate was pulled from the presidential race on Thursday in a move widely welcomed as good for stability after months of deep political uncertainty.
The decision to reverse the results of disputed first round polls in November was met with calm on the streets of the quake-hit Caribbean nation, which has endured decades of political upheaval, dictatorship and bloodshed.
Haiti's decision to eliminate the government-backed candidate from a presidential runoff won praise from foreign powers Thursday, and the U.S. and others signaled they would agree with President Rene Preval staying in office for a few months past the end of his term.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) issued the following statement today after Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) announced that Michel ‘Sweet Micky' Martelly and Mirlande Manigat will advance to a second round runoff next month in that nation's presidential election, which is consistent with the recommendations included in a report from the Organization of American States (OAS):
Pressure is rising on Haitian presidential candidate Jude Célestin to remove himself from the second round of the disputed presidential elections
By JACQUELINE CHARLES
Haitian presidential candidate Jude Célestin is resisting pressure from his political coalition to withdraw from the race and break an electoral impasse.
In a communiqué issued Wednesday, the coalition cited international pressure for the decision and said they remain convinced that Célestin won enough votes to advance into a second round of voting but that they decided not to provoke the international community.
A U.S. congresswoman with long-standing interest in Haiti says she is worried that wealthy Haitians may have promoted the return of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, hoping to benefit if he returns to power.
Rep. Maxine Waters said late Tuesday she was concerned that Duvalier's wealthy supporters may have tried to take advantage of an electoral dispute that has forced delays in a presidential runoff vote. She says a power vacuum is possible when President Rene Preval leaves office on Feb. 7.