PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – Haiti Aid Watchdog (HAW) in collaboration with Interuniversity Institute of Research and Development (INURED) is organizing Haiti’s first-ever publicly broadcast presidential debates. The first debate will be held on September 18, 2010 at Le Villate, 12 Rue Villate, in Petion-Ville at 9 AM. The theme: Nou pap vote moun men nap vote pwogram “We are not voting for a person but, a program.”
The September 18th debate will broadcast live on radio and television, including. The Haitian Diaspora is invited to participate in all of the debates and will be able to do so through Skype, video conferencing, email, and SMS texts courtesy of Multi-Link. Haiti Aid Watchdog is actively seeking to include urban and rural grass root organizations in the debates, particularly those representing the physically challenged, youth and women. International media will be invited to cover the event.
HAW expects that these debates will be the first of an on-going public dialogue on key policies such as: public services; international assistance; healthcare; education; decentralization; security; development and reconstruction; and the judicial system. It is HAW’s hope that these debates will generate new ideas and encourage a government that is accountable to the Haitian people. All of the presidential candidates have been invited to present their programs at the debates.
The 2010 election is an opportunity to start a new dialogue and relationship between grassroots organizations and Haiti’s national representatives. These debates are much needed and will educate Haitian voters on the candidates’ visions for the future and how they propose to implement them. Our priority will be to engage the candidates in discussions of Haiti’s future and steer away from confrontations involving the past.
Haiti Aid Watchdog is a non-partisan, non-profit formed by concerned citizens after the January earthquake to monitor the Haitian government and international organizations working in Haiti.
