Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Haiti: Historical Setting
As a consequence of what came to be called the "election-day
massacre," the four principal candidates condemned the CNG,
called for the restoration of an independent CEP, and agreed
to abstain from any new elections organized by the CNG.
Responding to domestic and international pressure, the CNG
agreed to hold new elections in January, under an electoral
council of its choosing.
The candidate preferred by the military and the United
States in the rescheduled presidential elections was Leslie
Francois Manigat. The military anticipated that he would be
malleable, and the United States viewed the Haitian academic
and anti-communist, who had left the country a generation
earlier and had ties to the United States and the Caribbean, as
more qualified than the other candidates. When the CNGorchestrated
elections took place on January 17, 1988, the
major candidates and most Haitians boycotted them; less than
10 percent of those eligible voted. Manigat was declared the
winner of elections marked by fraud and abstention.
Leslie Manigat held office for five months, during which he
made some powerful enemies, including the Roman Catholic
Church, drug traffickers, and the military. After the church
had boycotted the presidential elections, Manigat did not
invite the bishops to his inauguration. Wearing a Masonic sash,
he had a voodoo priest give the blessings. Several months later,
Manigat informed the church that he was going to change the
concordat, implying a reduction in its power.
President Manigat's initially cordial relations with the military
soon soured. Unable to obtain foreign military and economic
assistance, as he had promised, Manigat attempted to
find other sources of income. He initiated legal mechanisms to
recover hundreds of millions of dollars allegedly stolen byJean-
Claude Duvalier. Haiti had become a major transshipment
point for drugs en route to the United States from Latin America.
Manigat tried to stop the corrupting flow. Both of these
actions threatened vested interests within the armed forces. On
June 20, 1988, when President Manigat attempted to gain civilian
control over the military and remove top army officers, he
was removed from office by noncommissioned officers, and
General Namphy took control. On the same day, General Namphy
dissolved the National Assembly, suspended the 1987 constitution,
placed the country under strict military control, and,
because he felt the country was not ready for elections or
democracy, declared himself president.
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