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Viewing cable 10PORTAUPRINCE148, Preval Ponders Continued Use of Emergency Power

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
10PORTAUPRINCE148 2010-02-09 20:12 2011-08-30 01:44 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Port Au Prince
VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPU #0148/01 0402014
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 092012Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0338
INFO HAITI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000148 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AEMR ASEC CASC KFLO MARR PREL PINR AMGT HA PGOV AID
EAID 
SUBJECT: Preval Ponders Continued Use of Emergency Power 
 
1.       (SBU)  On January 16, four days after the earthquake, 
President Preval declared a state of national emergency and assumed 
the extraordinary powers granted to the Executive by the "Law on 
the State of Emergency."  The powers allow the Executive to enter 
into contracts, exercise eminent domain and take other actions in 
response to a natural disaster without consulting Parliament. 
Preval's authority under this emergency law will expire on February 
16 unless Parliament grants an extension.  Prime Minister Bellerive 
told members of the donors' coordination mechanism on February 8 
that relations between the Parliament, which is controlled by the 
opposition, and the Executive have turned confrontational since the 
earthquake and Preval cannot count on Parliament to extend the 
Executive's emergency powers.  Bellerive said that after February 
16 the GOH will have to choose between continuing to exercise 
emergency powers beyond the time established in the "Law on the 
State of Emergency," or face gridlock as it would have to negotiate 
all disaster response needs with a fractious and obstructionist 
legislature.  The situation is further muddled by the fact that the 
constitutional mandate of the lower house of Parliament expired on 
December 31, 2009 and the sitting Parliament is operating solely on 
the basis of their own vote to extend their mandate through May, 
2010, which violates the constitution.  The terms of two-thirds of 
the members of the Senate have not expired.  President Preval 
continues to enjoy support of a tenuous majority in the Senate, but 
the Senate cannot pass laws without the corresponding vote in the 
lower chamber. 
 
 
 
2.       (SBU)  "The Law on the State of Emergency" provides that: 
 
*         During a period of emergency caused by a natural 
catastrophe (to include earthquakes), the President has the 
authority to declare a "State of Emergency" for a period of 15 
days.  The President may extend this 15-day period for another 
15-day period.  However, beyond the second extension, the state of 
emergency can be renewed only with agreement by Parliament, and 
only for periods of 30 days at a time. 
 
 
 
*         If Parliament is not in session, the President may call 
them into session to consider the agreement. 
 
 
 
*         During the state of emergency, the powers of the 
President are extremely broad and include the authority to: 
 
a.       Pay all necessary expenses without taking into account the 
budget or the procedures established by statutes for making such 
expenditures; 
 
b.      Sign necessary contracts without the procedure requiring 
bidding for public contracts; 
 
c.       Order the closing of businesses; 
 
d.      Order the removal of persons to other areas; 
 
e.      Control access to streets; 
 
f.        Establish financial assistance programs for victims; 
 
g.       Appropriate private property to supplement relief and 
housing efforts if the government does not have sufficient 
resources to provide them; 
 
h.      Reinforce the means of providing security in the affected 
area; 
 
i.         Take measures to shelter displaced persons, and to order 
the construction, destruction or removal of property from the 
affected area; and 
 
j.        Take any measure allowing him to resolve the situation 
("prendre toutes autres mesures permettant de faire face a  la 
situation." ). 
 
 
 
3.       (SBU)  COMMENT:  Faced with the choice of continuing to 
 
exercise emergency powers beyond the period stipulated by law or 
giving an unconstitutional Parliament veto power over important 
disaster response actions, Bellerive appears inclined to do the 
former and was putting the international community on notice that 
the GOH did not have any perfect choices in this situation.  He 
appealed for international community comprehension and support, 
noting that governments in Haiti (including his two predecessors) 
have fallen as a result of lesser confrontations with Parliament. 
 
 
 
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED 
LINDWALL