PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – Haiti’s president promised yesterday to leave power in three days’ time despite having no replacement after a botched election, as opposition protests intensified and politicians squabbled over who should lead an interim government.
President Michel Martelly had earlier warned he would not step aside without an established succession plan, enraging protesters who have marched almost daily in the capital Port-au-Prince over the past two weeks.
Haiti’s constitution requires Martelly to leave office on Feb. 7, but runoff elections to choose the next president were cancelled last month when opposition candidate Jude Celestin threatened to boycott the vote and protests turned violent.
“I am grateful to all those who allowed me to serve. On Feb. 7, I’ll leave without any regret, any envy and without any desire to remain in power,” Martelly told reporters at an event to inaugurate a new Department of Interior headquarters built after a January 2010 earthquake flattened much of the capital. Martelly’s departure should placate opposition parties who accuse him of trying to unfairly favour his preferred candidate, Jovenel Moise, in the elections but could leave a power vacuum in the poor, volatile Caribbean nation.
