Former pop star Michel Martelly was sworn in as the President of Haiti this morning. Moments before the inauguration, which was attended by former President Bill Clinton, electricity went out showing that the country still needs a lot of rebuilding. Martelly has stated that some of the first things he will tackle as president will be corruption, transparency, and to appoint high court judges to improve the law and justice in Haiti. Hopefully Martelly will be good for the rebuilding of Haiti. Read more info after the jump.
@Julie1205
With expectations of change running high, former bad-boy pop star Michel Martelly was sworn in Saturday as the president of impoverished Haiti, still reeling from last year’s devastating earthquake.
In a sign of the nation’s troubles, the electricty went out moments before the inauguration, prompting formally dressed dignitaries and guests, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, to fan themselves to stave off rising May heat.
Immediately, Twitter lit up with posts calling the blackout a “bad sign.” Despite the outage, the ceremony proceeded before parliament.
Martelly, savvy insocial media, announced his own inauguration as Haiti’s 56th president minutes after it happened along with a flurry of messages expressing hope that change would now come to Haiti.
Outside, thousands of Haitians rejoiced at what they see as a new start for their country, where many people remain displaced from their homes and post-quake reconstruction has been slow, one of the reasons popular discontent with the former administration had grown.
A collective joy surfaced in a nation that has been subjected to months of misery compounded by a cholera epidemic that erupted last October.
Martelly has acknowledged his task as herculean in nature. He has pledged to fight corruption and institute measures of transparency.
He told CNN last month that one of his first actions as president would be to nominate high court judges. Creating an independent judiciary will send an important signal, he said.
“We have to establish a rule of law,” he said. “We want justice for everyone.”
Martelly also vowed to end government corruption that has plagued Haiti for years.
“I am excited to take command and make the right decisions for my country,” he said during a visit to Washington in April.
In a message posted on Twitter after the inauguration, the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince said it was looking forward to working with the new government to achieve a better future for Haitian people.
Martelly’s candidacy was unexpected — he was better known as Sweet Micky, the kompa singer with flamboyant stage presence but appealed to voters who had grown weary with the status quo.
