Opposition politicians on Tuesday condemned the country’s slide into rule by decree under President Jovenel Moise after the failure to renew parliament, creating a political vacuum.
Andre Michel, a politician with the opposition Democratic and Popular Sector, said the country was entering a crisis that would be worse than in 2019, when the impoverished country was racked by violent protests against the government.
“Today we see that Jovenel Moise is devoid of any popular legitimacy,” Michel told a news conference.
In the early hours of Monday, the president Jovenel Moise said the mandates of lower house deputies and most senators formally expired because no successors were elected in October after the troubled country failed to hold elections.
Jovenel blamed parliament for having failed to approve the electoral law required to hold last year’s elections while his opponents accused him of trying to take advantage of the law.