PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – Jovenel Moise was sworn in Tuesday as Haiti’s president for the next five years after a bruising two-year election cycle, inheriting a chronically struggling economy and a deeply divided society.
The 48-year-old entrepreneur took the oath of office in a Parliament chamber packed with Haitian lawmakers and foreign dignitaries from countries including the U.S., Venezuela and France. He smiled slightly as the Senate leader slipped Haiti’s red and blue presidential sash over his left shoulder.
Holding his hand on a Bible, Moise vowed to protect the Constitution and work to improve citizens’ lives in the economically strapped nation.
He’s scheduled to outline specifics of his government’s priorities in his inaugural speech later Tuesday. Moise has said he will focus on boosting the long-neglected countryside, where almost 80 percent of households farm, and bring more investments and jobs to one of the least developed nations in the world.
There’s little expectation among citizens that Moise’s new government can overcome Haiti’s deep problems of poverty and economic malaise in the next five years, but he does have a majority in Parliament and some are hopeful the businessman-turned-politician will make advances.