Shake-up in Haitian Supreme Court
Alfred de Montesquiou
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti’s interim government said
Friday it has removed five of the 10 judges from the Supreme Court,
another move in a tense power struggle ahead of next month’s
national elections.
The decision came a day after the court ruled to uphold an earlier
decision allowing a Haitian-born U.S. multimillionaire to run for
president in his native country.
Michel Brunache, chief of staff for interim President Boniface Alexandre,
said the government’s decision to retire the judges was made
long ago. It was signed during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday and
five new judges have been nominated.
“This is a purely administrative measure, to improve the efficiency
of the court,” Brunache told The Associated Press.
The interim government, in power since a bloody rebellion ousted
Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004, has been intent on preventing
the candidacy of the U.S. businessman Dumarsais Simeus, on grounds
that it could create a political crisis.
Though the constitution does not allow dual citizenship, the Supreme
Court ruled in October that authorities had not proven that Simeus
was a U.S. citizen and said he should run.
The interim government later created a nationality commission that
excluded Simeus from the list of 35 candidates allowed to run for
president. The Supreme Court’s upholding of its earlier ruling
on Thursday was seen by some observers as a blow to the government’s
decision.
Two of the five retired judges were part of the five-judge panel
that had unanimously ruled in favor of Simeus in their decision
published on Thursday.
“This is a purely arbitrary measure,” retired Supreme
Court judge Michel Donatien told The Associated Press.
Donatien said he had been working at the court until earlier Friday
and had learned about his retirement via the media. He questioned
the interim president’s right to retire judges since he was
not elected to office.
Simeus, 65, the son of illiterate rice farmers, left Haiti at the
age of 21 for the United States., where he became the multimillionaire
owner of Simeus Foods in Texas.
The first electoral poll in Haiti, published Friday, stated he was
the Haitians’ second favorite choice for president, behind
front-runner Rene Preval. The two polled far ahead of the other
candidates.
(Associated Press)
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