Large protests erupted across Haiti in March 2021 against President Moïse’s plan to hold a constitutional referendum that opponents argued was both legally prohibited and designed to consolidate presidential power at the expense of democratic checks and balances. Demonstrators in Port-au-Prince and provincial cities filled the streets with signs condemning what they called an attempt to rewrite the constitution to serve one man’s political ambitions.
The Haitian constitution explicitly prohibited its own modification by referendum — changes required parliamentary approval following a specific constitutional process. Moïse’s plan to circumvent this requirement by holding a popular referendum on an entirely new constitution was condemned by legal scholars, civil society organizations, opposition parties, and several international observers as unconstitutional on its face.
Critics also raised substantive concerns about the content of the proposed constitutional changes. The draft constitution would, among other things, allow the president to run for two consecutive terms without a pause, abolish the Senate, establish a vice president who reported to the president rather than serving as a check on executive power, and reduce the independence of oversight institutions.
The March protests demonstrated that despite years of political exhaustion and COVID disruptions, Haitians retained both the will and the capacity to mobilize against threats to democratic governance. The images of demonstrators in the streets — peaceful but forceful in their message — sent a clear signal that the constitutional referendum would not pass without significant political costs.