Funeral of assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moise to be held

The State funeral of Haitian President Jovenel Moise will be held today in the city of Cape Haitien.

After President Moise was assassinated in his private residence in Port-au-Prince on July 7, the dysfunction of the Caribbean nation political system was laid bare. Moise had ruled Haiti by decree after 2018’s legislative elections were delayed due to multiple disputes, including when his term ended.

Haiti’s political situation does not seem to have an easy solution at hand and its future remains uncertain. Even though several nations have supported the general elections scheduled for September, elections are unlikely to occur in the medium-term. The current political atmosphere is too chaotic and violent, while the collapse of the country’s institutions makes it implausible to hold free and fair elections.

Expect new Prime Minister Ariel Henry and his transitional government to try to rebuild Haiti’s political institutions with the international community’s backing. The US—one of Haiti’s allies—has vowed security assistance without military intervention. Nevertheless, a constitutional reboot would tie together a national dialogue involving the opposition and civil society. Likely this will happen in the short-term after Henry is reassured that his priority task is to restore order across Haiti’s political factions.

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