A delegation of the Diaspora spent two days in Haiti, May 16 to May 18, 2013 for an audience with government officials on matters related to the Haitian vote in the upcoming presidential elections in 2015. Coining the term that Haiti's President Jean Michel Martelly issued an invalid check to the Haitian Diaspora, Dr. Woody Dorcelly, the President of Banm Dwam, a Haitian Advocacy Group based in Washington DC, was firm and forceful to request concrete actions from the President and its allied in the parliament to deliver the diaspora vote. A request of the group to meet with Martelly went without success. The Minister for Haitians Living Abroad, Mrs. Bernice Fidelia who has the ears of the President ignored a communication from the group sent weeks prior. This action may have placed the MHAVE Minister in a collision course with the Diaspora since she has abdicated from her principal role in serving as a bridge between the diaspora and the Haitian Government. Her role appears to function more like a political operative for the president than a minister, stated Jean-Robert Lafortune, President of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, HAGC. Lafortune led a global diaspora movement in June 2011 when a Designated Primer Minister made it his priorities to disband this ministry through the collective effort of the Haitian Diaspora Working Group, HDWG. The delegation was received at the Diplomatic Salon by the Parliamentarian Danton Leger who in March 2013 introduced the legislation for the Haitian Diaspora Vote. In his speech, Mr. Leger stated that it is just and right for the Haitian Diaspora to seek a political presence in the Haitian House and the Senate since it is the Diaspora that is sustaining the homeland with an estimated 3 billion dollars annually in addition to its expertise, knowledge, and professional experience.
At the meeting with MINUSTHA,the delegation offers its expertise in helping with the upcoming legislative elections in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The delegation raises the issue whether or not there is an exit strategy for MINUSTHA to leave the country. Mr. Carl Alexandre who is the United Nations Envoy in Haiti stated that in the March 23, 2013 report there is an annex that outlined the principal objectives that need to be accomplished before MINUSTHA can leave. The year 2016 is the period identified that it will take to achieve its tasks such as beefing up the quantity of the Haiti's National Police from 10,000 to 15,000, and governance among others. Mr. Dorcelly shared with the attendees a sample of a National Identity Card that can ve used by the diaspora to be able to vote.
The delegation was able to meet with CETEP that replaces the traditional Haiti'CEP, a transitory structure put in place by the Executive to conduct the upcoming elections. After almost two hours of discussion, it was agreed that the CETEP should adopt a more inclusive approach in its relationship with the Diaspora. The Treasurer of the CETEP agreed to include the recommendations of the delegations into a legal document that they will send to the Haitian Parliament next week. The delegation was composed of nine members, including representatives from BANM DWAM in Washington, the Haitian League in New Jersey and the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition in Florida. The delegation, before leaving Haiti, had a working session members of the Parliament and presented Haitian Diaspora recommendations.