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FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0355
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 2380
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO PRIORITY 0424
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 2098
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1930

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000788 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR, S/CRS, INL FOR KEVIN BROWN, 
HEATHER WILD, AND MEAGAN MCBRIDE 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD, STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR, 
INR/IAA, DS/IP/WHA, WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM ASEC HA KBIO
SUBJECT: HAITI: ELECTED SENATORS TAKE OFFICE 
 
REF: PORT AU PRINCE 00768 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission David E. Lindwall, for reasons 1 
.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY.  Senate leadership validated the 11 
newly-elected Senators on September 4 through a coup de 
force.  Senate President Kely Bastien resigned to allow the 
Bureau d'Age to validate the Senators, and he was re-elected 
unanimously on September 9.  New officers at the Senate were 
also elected, all aligned with President Preval.  The 
controversial seating of all 11 newly-elected Senators has 
strengthened Preval's majority in the Senate, and he is 
likely to use that influence to push hard for his 
constitutional reform proposal (septel). END SUMMARY. 
 
THE COUP DE FORCE 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (U) The Senate validated the 11 newly-elected Senators on 
September 4, sidestepping the need for a quorum by using the 
Bureau d'Age of the Senate to swear-in Senators (reftel).  As 
President Bastien resigned, the Bureau d,Age took office 
(according to Senate internal rules) and led the validation 
procedure.  This Bureau is composed of the oldest Senator 
(Laurent Mathurin) and the 2 youngest (Nenel cassy and 
Francky Exius, himself sworn in on the same day).  Only 11 of 
the seated Senate members were present.  The seven absent 
Senators were: Senators Evalliere Beauplan, Jean Hector 
Anacasis, Rudy Heriveaux, Andris Riche, Jean Joseph 
Pierre-Louis, Edmonde Beauzile and Youri Latortue. 
 
¶3. (U) Several Senators have decried a coup de force by the 
Senate leadership as have other opposition leaders.  Both 
Myrlande Manigat of the RDNP party and Senator Riche (ex 
Vice-President of the Senate and OPL- affiliated) declared 
the procedure to be illegal.  Senators Latortue and Beauzile 
expressed dissatisfaction at what they described as political 
machinations by the ruling party to consolidate its power. 
 
THE NEW GUYS ON THE BLOCK 
------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) The Senate is now composed of 29 Senators (the seat in 
the Centre Department remains vacant) and it no longer runs 
the systemic risk of not reaching a quorum.  The new Senators 
(all elected until 2014, unless otherwise noted) are: 
-- Louis Michelet (Artibonite, Independent), aligned with 
Preval.  The OPL party claims he won the seat fraudulently, a 
claim UN observers have told us they believe is accurate.  He 
replaces the deceased Senator Limage until 2010 only. 
-- Jean William Jeanty (Nippes, KONBA), aligned with Preval. 
-- Maxime Roumer (Grande Anse, LESPWA), aligned with Preval. 
He was re-elected. 
-- Jean Charles Moise (Nord, LESPWA), aligned with Preval. 
He is a former Lavalas mayor of Milot and has been rumored to 
have been involved in criminal activities, namely in the 
murder of the cousin of a Parliamentarian in the north. 
-- Derex Pierre Louis (Nord-Est, LESPWA), aligned with 
Preval.  He is a former Lavalas senator. 
-- Joseph Joel John (Ouest, LESPWA), aligned with Preval. 
Known as JJJ, he is rumored to have been involved in criminal 
activities (mainly kidnappings) based out of the Cite Soleil 
slum. 
-- Pierre Francky Exius (Sud, LESPWA), aligned with Preval. 
He is a former Lavalas leader in the south, who changed 
platforms when Lavalas was barred from presenting candidates 
at these elections.  He remains close to the anti-Aristide 
branch of Lavalas led by Yvon Neptune.  The UCCADHE party 
claims he won the seat fraudulently.  Very few votes 
separated the two candidates in the South, but Exius is most 
likely the legitimate winner. 
-- Wenceslass Lambert (Sud-Est, LESPWA), aligned with Preval. 
 He is the brother of Senator Joseph Lambert. 
-- Jean Willy Jean Batiste (Artibonite, LAAA) belongs to an 
opposition party, but has not taken any position against 
Preval.  He is a former RDNP senate candidate. 
-- Jean Rodolph Joazile (Nord-Est, FUSION) is in the 
opposition.  He replaces ex-Senator Boulos and was elected 
for four years. 
 
PORT AU PR 00000788  002 OF 002 
 
 
-- Melius Hyppolite (Nord-Ouest, OPL) belongs to an 
opposition party, but also has not taken any position against 
Preval.  He was re-elected. 
 
 
ALL NEW OFFICERS, EXCEPT BASTIEN 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Bastien was re-elected as President by his colleagues 
on September 9.  He was supported by Senator Joseph Lambert, 
who had earlier told PolOff that he intended to present 
himself as a candidate, thus leading us to believe that an 
arrangement was made between Bastien and Lambert.  Senator 
Michel Clerie, an estranged member of FUSION and close to 
Preval, became Vice-President, and Senator Yvon Buissereth, 
Lavalas-affiliated but very much aligned with Preval and 
LESPWA as well, became Questeur (treasurer of the Senate). 
Two new-comers, Francky Exius and Jean Willy Jean Baptiste 
respectively became First and Second Secretary.  Senate 
Leadership is now entirely on Preval,s side.  None of the 
Senators absent at the validation session participated in 
this vote either. 
 
MAYBE NOT SO GOOD AFTER ALL 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) COMMENT.  Informed observers had expected the 
validation to go through with or without a quorum.  However, 
in his meeting with Ambassador Merten on September 3, Bastien 
made no mention of his intention to use the controversial 
Bureau d'Age for the validation or his intent to resign. 
Bastien seemed to have been given no choice with the end of 
the session approaching on September 14 and the incapacity of 
the seated Senate to reach consensus.  Bastien resigned to 
allow the Bureau d,Age to take office, thus sidestepping the 
need for a quorum, but also to allow for the new Senators to 
elect new officers, as Senate internal rules provided.  The 
majority of the new Senate is now on the side of President 
Preval (at least 17 out of 29) and is likely to ignore the 
political fallout from the validation process.  The fact that 
Francky Exius was part of the Bureau d,Age and tat he was 
elected as First-Secretary shows the diregard the Preval 
majority has for the fraud allgations linked to Exius in the 
South and to the raud allegations in general. 
 
¶7. (C) The hastines in the seating of these Senators is 
probably lnked to the urgency of the vote on Preval's 
consttutional reform proposal, to be held at the lateston 
September 14.  Preval has shown that he has ifluence in both 
the Lower Chamber (with the minium wage vote) and in the 
Senate (with the validaion).  Post expects that Preval will 
continue to aneuver to mitigate the political fallout from 
the validation and election of the 11 senators, as well as 
push for his proposals.  Overall, Preval has continued to 
extend his influence across party lines in the political 
sphere, leaving the opposition weak and fragmented. However, 
in the process, he has placed political expediency ahead of 
the integrity of Haiti's democratic institutions. END COMMENT. 
MERTEN