[House Document 106-133]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 106-133
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THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT OF HAITI
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
NOTIFICATION THAT THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT OF HAITI HAS ACHIEVED A
TRANSPARENT SETTLEMENT OF THE CONTESTED APRIL 1997 ELECTIONS, AND HAS
MADE CONCRETE PROGRESS ON THE CONSTITUTION OF A CREDIBLE AND COMPETENT
PROVISIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL THAT IS ACCEPTABLE TO A BROAD SPECTRUM OF
POLITICAL PARTIES AND CIVIC GROUPS IN HAITI
September 28, 1999.--Referred jointly to the Committees on
International Relations and Appropriations, and ordered to be printed
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
69-012 WASHINGTON : 1999
The White House,
Washington, August 16, 1999.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: Pursuant to the authority vested in me as
President by the Constitution and the laws of the United
States, including section 561(b) of the Foreign Operations,
Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1999
(FOAA), as enacted in Public Law 105-277, I hereby report to
the Congress that the central Government of Haiti: (1) has
achieved a transparent settlement of the contested April 1997
elections, and (2) has made concrete progress on the
constitution of a credible and competent provisional electoral
council that is acceptable to a broad spectrum of political
parties and civic groups in Haiti. Section 561(b) states that
funds appropriated by the FOAA and made available to support
elections in Haiti shall not be restricted if I report to the
Congress that the central Government of Haiti has met the two
aforementioned criteria.
The first criterion in section 561(b) of the FOAA, a
transparent settlement of the contested April 1997 elections,
was cumulatively met by a public declaration by the Provisional
Electoral Council (CEP) on June 11 and the promulgation of the
Electoral Law, which was published in the national gazette Le
Moniteur July 19, and republished with corrections July 22.
Taken together, these two acts establish that 19 Senate seats
will be run in the legislative and local elections projected
for late 1999. Included in this number are the two still-
contested Senate seats from April 1997. Article 63 of the
Electoral Law specifically states ``the number of Senators to
be elected in the upcoming elections shall be determined by the
CEP.'' This authority is also provided in Article 16. Article
130 states that the elections are to fill Senate seats vacant
by ``fact or law.''
Pursuant to its authority to determine which seats will be
competed, the CEP declared publicly on June 11 that it ``has
decided to call elections to fill all Senate positions
currently vacant, whether de facto or de jure, without
distinction.'' In a number of subsequent public statements, as
well as in private assurances to the Embassy and others in the
international community, CEP officials explicitly and
unanimously reiterated that because there are presently eight
sitting Senators and the Constitution calls for a Senate of 27
Senators, a total of 19 Senate seats will be competed,
including the two still-contested positions.
The second criterion, concrete progress on constituting a
competent, credible, and broadly acceptable CEP, was achieved
March 16 when President Preval announced that nine-member
body's composition after consultations with the five-party
Espace de Concertation. Since that time, the CEP has performed
in a competent, even-handed, and credible manner and has been
deemed acceptable even by parties and movements who stand in
staunch opposition to the government.
Sincerely,
William J. Clinton.