Saturday January 8 around 7:00 pm, at the 1ère ruelle Rivière (Bourdon, Port-au-Prince) armed individuals took control of a Jeep Toyota Land cruiser from the procession of Senator Joseph Lambert, President of the Senate, in which were 3 police officers from the Motorized Intervention Brigade (BRI) and the Departmental Unit for Maintaining Order (UDMO) assigned to the security of the Senate President efore fleeing with the vehicle and the 3 hostages, reported Senator Lambert who indicates that the kidnappers are demanding $ 5 million to free the 3 hostages...

Senator Lambert attributed the kidnapping to the situation of "general insecurity" in Haiti, without mentioning possible political motivations as tension mounts between the Executive and the Legislature. He says he will not be intimidated and will stand by his Senate speech on Monday, January 10.

A speech in which Lambert will defend, that the term of office of the ten senators still in activity ends in January 2023. Recall that the senators in office, the only democratically elected positions still remaining in power in Haiti, were elected in 2016 and have took office for 6 years at the start of 2017 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35634-haiti-flash-end-of-the-mandate-of-senators-in-2023.html However, some political sectors claim that the Senators' term expires on January 10, 2022, based on an interpretation of the Constitution. They calculate the start of the mandate on the date of publication of the results of elected senators and not from the time they take office with the taking of the oath. Recall that a similar process was used for the end of Jovenel Moïse's mandate before he was assassinated. Others close to the Executive would simply like the Prime Minister to end senators' terms on January 10, 2022.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35634-haiti-flash-end-of-the-mandate-of-senators-in-2023.html

SL/ HaitiLibre