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PM: Haiti to hold delayed vote by early next year

By WTOP Staff

TRENTON DANIEL
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said Tuesday that his country will hold long overdue elections no later than early next year if several opposition lawmakers don’t stand in the way of the vote before their mandates expire in January.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Lamothe said a group of six senators who have been holding Haiti “hostage” won’t be able to do so anymore once their terms end in mid-January. Still, Lamothe said, he hopes the officials will approve an electoral law before then, a move that will pave the way to organize the vote that is three years late.

The expiration of their terms means that Parliament will be dissolved. President Michel Martelly will then rule by decree.

“From Jan. 12 on, they will not have the (green) light to block the process,” Lamothe said while in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. “The president will take (responsibility) and organize the elections as soon as he can, as soon as possible.”

If the vote isn’t held before year’s end, it will happen in the first three months of next year, Lamothe said.

The vote seeks to fill two thirds of the 30-member Senate, the entire 99-member Chamber of Deputies and dozens of local posts. Political infighting and foot dragging have led to the delay, which has been met with a mix of frustration and indifference.

The senators deny they’re holding up elections and are instead defending the Haitian Constitution.

The run-up to the election is almost certain to prove turbulent.

In recent weeks, supporters of two-time president Jean-Bertrand Aristide have organized menacing protests outside his compound in the capital as he faces a revived criminal inquiry that originates from the aftermath of his second ouster, in 2004.

Aristide, a former priest who remains both popular and polarizing, is barred from running for a third presidential term under the Haitian Constitution. But leaders of his political party, Lavalas Family, have said they plan to participate.

The judge’s report focuses on corruption, money laundering and drug trafficking charges brought against Aristide, Lamothe said, citing information he has received from the judge and the news.

Aristide’s legal team said he is innocent and is being persecuted as part of an effort to discredit his political party from running in the upcoming election. Lamothe denied this on Tuesday.

“We have absolutely no intention of persecuting Aristide politically or anything of the sort,” Lamothe said in a hotel restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. “What we want is stability. We want peace. And we want the country to move forward. And of course we want the rule of law to prevail.”

Lamothe declined to say if the case would prove explosive if Aristide was served an arrest warrant, which was issued because he had ignored the investigating judge’s summons to answer questions on the case. A house arrest was then imposed on Aristide; his lawyer has said such restrictions don’t exist in Haiti.

On the face of it, the Aristide case seems at odds with a spirit of reconciliation that Martelly had promoted shortly after winning a contested election that brought him to power in 2011. After he was inaugurated, Martelly met with former heads of state, including Aristide and ex-dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who also faces criminal charges.

The aim of such meetings was to show that Martelly was above the revenge-focused politics that has defined Haiti’s past.

“That is still the goal of the government, to basically hold a united country to tackle problems in a united fashion,” Lamothe said. “But in this particular case you have an independent judge doing an independent inquiry into dealings of (Aristide’s) past.”

Aristide returned to Haiti in 2011, a year after the capital was struck by a massive earthquake. The disaster’s destruction included the National Palace, a Beaux Arts structure that served as a symbol of devastation. The quake displaced more than a million people, a number that officials say has since dropped to 60,000.

The National Palace wasn’t demolished until 2012 and the government has yet to announce plans to rebuild another.

“The president wanted every single (displaced) person to be relocated before even thinking of the palace, before even thinking about reconstructing the palace,” Lamothe said. The new residence “will be a palace that is much more modest and has a sense of humility, more than a sense of glamour and glitz.”

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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