With the Haitian parliament now expired and President Moïse governing by decree, opposition groups launched renewed pressure campaigns in February 2020 to delegitimize what they described as a one-man government operating without constitutional checks or accountability. Protest marches in Port-au-Prince drew thousands despite the relative exhaustion of a movement that had been in the streets for nearly two years.
Opposition leaders argued that a president ruling by decree was constitutionally and morally equivalent to a dictator regardless of how the situation had been reached, and that the international community’s continued engagement with Moïse enabled authoritarianism rather than democracy. Several opposition groupings announced coordinated campaigns combining street protest with diplomatic lobbying of foreign governments and international organizations.
The government maintained that the decree-based governance was a temporary constitutional necessity caused by the opposition’s own refusal to participate in elections, and that Moïse remained committed to organizing a vote as soon as possible. Officials pointed to technical preparations for elections that were underway within the executive branch.
Analysts noted that the power to govern by decree was a double-edged sword for Moïse. On one hand, it freed him from the legislative blockage that had paralyzed previous policy initiatives. On the other, it removed the legislative legitimation that would have given his governance broader political acceptance, deepening the opposition’s resolve and increasing international concern about Haiti’s democratic trajectory.