PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – After three days of meetings, the chief of a regional mission is hopeful but not necessarily confident that Haiti’s political crisis can be resolved before the scheduled end of the president’s term this weekend.
At outgoing President Michel Martelly’s request, the Organization of American States authorized the special mission to Haiti following the indefinite suspension of a runoff election to choose a successor before the Feb. 7 constitutional deadline for him to leave office. Since arriving Sunday, the OAS representatives have met with Martelly and officials of his administration, lawmakers, judges and others.
Ronald Sanders, an Antiguan diplomat who is mission leader and chairman of the 35-nation OAS’s permanent council, said he was impressed with the “remarkable intelligence” of the Haitian officials, but he wouldn’t go so far as to say he was confident that they will agree on a workable solution in the next few days.
“If I am to believe what people have said to us about their determination to save their country and to take it forward, then I believe there’s great hope that they will reach a solution,” he said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press.
Sanders said Haitian senators have proposed a plan that would see Martelly step down on schedule Sunday. The presidency would remain vacant for a short term, with a consensus prime minister running the country until a new president could be elected.