Haiti - Elections : Political neutrality of the PNH
Mario Andresol, the Director General of Police Nationale d'Haiti (PNH), concerned to keep the integrity and the neutrality of the institution he heads, made known to the political, administrative, judicial, religious, press and all those interested in the issue of elections, that the high commandment did not give the order, to any police officer, to vote for any candidate.
Although the article 10 of the general rules of discipline of the Police, recognizes the right to all police officers to exercise their duties as citizens, it is in these same general rules, that the article 9, requires of police officers, that they do not use their position or what the police put to their disposition, to support a political party, a religion, a union, etc... So, the vote for every police officer is an exercise of "equal citizen". That is why the direction of the police, recalls to all police officers, that they have no right to use the vehicles or motorcycles of the police to transport people to vote. They also have the interdiction to use their uniforms, weapons and other equipment to force people to vote for their candidate.
The commitment of the Director General is to keep the police away from political affairs. It relies heavily on the population to help it to keep this line of command, by reporting all police officers who have a bad behavior, the election day on March 20. The commandment count on the understanding of all political actors, taking the opportunity to remind them that the police is not there to play a role, or for weighing a weight in the political balance of Haiti.
Contrary to what was before, the PNH does not attempt to influence the country's political life. It has the duty and obligation to stay within the limits that the law has fixed as part of its operation.
