DEPUTIES TO ELECT NEW LEADERSHIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000059 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR S/CRS SOUTHCOMALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PINR HA SUBJECT: DEPUTIES TO ELECT NEW LEADERSHIP REF: A. PAP 42 ¶B. 06 PAP 2122 ¶C. 06 PAP 2477 PORT AU PR 00000059 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Janet A. Sanderson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: As a result of continuing political maneuvering and lobbying, the deputies in Haiti's lower house have delayed executive board elections originally scheduled for the first day of the new session on January 8. A coalition of the Fusion, Alyans, and OPL parties has reportedly agreed on candidates for three of the five positions. Frantz Robert Monde of Fusion, a former chamber president, is the front runner for the presidency. He told Poloff on January 11 that would like to have better cooperation with the USG and the senate leadership but sharply criticized Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis, citing "lies" in his most recent address to parliament (ref A) and indicating he might a allow a vote of no confidence in the lower house. with Senator Joseph Lambert, a cautious supporter of Alexis, remaining at the helm of the senate, the Prime Minister appears safe for the moment, but more effective chamber leadership will sharpen the discontent within the chamber with Alexis' leadership. End Summary. Wanted: New Leadership -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The chamber of deputies accomplished little during their first session under the outgoing executive office (ref B),and most deputies blame the leadership and are anxious to see it change. Several candidates for the chamber presidency surfaced, but Fusion, Alyans, and OPL have organized the firmest coalition, much as they did in informally joining with Lespwa deputies to divide up committee chairmanships during the last session. Fusion spokesman Micha Gaillard confirmed to poloff on January 9 that the leadership and deputies of the three parties had met to choose candidates for the positions of president, treasurer and first secretary. He acknowledged that Lespwa would play a role SIPDIS given its strength, and that a Lespwa deputy would likely take the position of the vice presidency. Front Runner no Fan of the PM -------------- ¶3. (C) The Fusion/Alyans/OPL coalition has by all accounts settled on Frantz Robert Monde from the southern Nippes Department as their choice for chamber president. Few deputies have leadership experience in national politics and Monde stands out in this regard. In 1994, he was the president of the chamber and treasurer in 1988. Monde told poloff on January 11 that he looked forward to cooperation with the USG, especially on the questions of deportees and drug trafficking, as well as better development in the areas of health and education, which he considered priorities for the country. ¶4. (C) Monde claimed that Alexis' address at the opening ceremony was "full of lies" and he and his colleagues were not his fans. He dodged the question of whether he would push for a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Alexis. In response to direct questioning about Alexis' future, Monde was evasive, but noted that "the fish rots from the head" and it was necessary to make some changes at the top. He suspected that Alexis himself had engineered the delay in the leadership elections, noting it is the prerogative of the current president Eric Pierre Jean Jacques (Lespwa) to call the elections. He speculated Jean Jacques (Lespwa) had delayed because Alexis was attempting to find a supportive Lespwa presidential candidate. Senate President Still Behind the PM ¶6. (C) Senate president Joseph Lambert told the Ambassador on January 10 that the lower house would convoke the Superior Council of the National Police (CSPN),headed by Alexis, soon after the elections of the executive board to review the security situation. Lambert believed that the deputies, who PORT AU PR 00000059 002.2 OF 002 had used these occasions during the first session to level criticism at Alexis, would likely push for a vote of no confidence. He added that during Preval's tenure as Prime Minister during Aristide's first term Monde, as chamber President, had brought a motion of no confidence against him. Lambert, however, reiterated his earlier support of Alexis, saying he did not want to antagonize the executive given the uncertain political and security climate (ref C). (Note: The chamber and senate must separately approve a vote of no confidence for the motion to carry. End Note.) ¶7. (U) Biographical Note: Monde (DOB: April 26, 1948) is trained as an economist. Outside of his service as a deputy, he was a former inspector at the ministry of commerce, a member of the national budget council, chief of cabinet for the ministry of commerce and a consultant for the ministry of interior in 1991 and 1994. He is the current president of the chamber's anti-corruption commission and was a former vice president of the chamber's commission for finance. Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) As reported in reftels, parliamentary discontent with Alexis over the past months has ebbed and flowed based on the security situation in Port-au-Prince in any given week. Under the almost completely directionless leadership of the chamber leadership, however, Alexis' opponents were never able to organize a serious threat to Alexis or his ministers or identify plausible alternatives. If this Fusion-led coalition successfully elects Monde, however, that may change. Alexis retains effective support in the Senate, but at the very least, new chamber leadership is likely to require Alexis to spend more time and effort answering his parliamentary critics. End Comment. SANDERSON