    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [August 16, 1999]
    [Pages 1449-1450]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on Elections in Haiti
    August 16, 1999

    Dear Mr. Speaker:  (Dear Mr. President:)
        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

    [[Page 1450]]

    Note: Identical letters were sent to J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the
    House of Representatives, and Albert Gore, Jr., President of the Senate.