[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

                                -------                                

                    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.

                                

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