By Brian Con­can­non, Jr.

On Decem­ber 3, Hait­ian vot­ers will vote for can­di­dates for mayor, and for rep­re­sen­ta­tives in a sys­tem called the ASEC sys­tem. In all, over 29,000 can­di­dates are run­ning for 1,420 posi­tions. The may­oral elec­tions are rel­a­tively straight­for­ward: vot­ers vote for a “car­tel” or slate of three can­di­dates that will col­lec­tively man­age the affairs of the municipality.

The ASEC sys­tem is more com­pli­cated. It is a large pyra­mid struc­ture, designed to rad­i­cally decen­tral­ize democ­racy, by insur­ing that peo­ple who get into office on the votes of their imme­di­ate neigh­bors have a say at the top lev­els of polit­i­cal power. The base of the pyra­mid is the ASECS them­selves, chose by neigh­bor­hood. The top is the national Inter-Departmental Assem­bly, made up of ASEC mem­bers cho­sen suc­ces­sively to rep­re­sent their neigh­bor­hood, their munic­i­pal­ity and their department.

Haiti is divided into 10 Depart­ments, each Depart­ment is divided into munic­i­pal­i­ties, or com­munes, and each munic­i­pal­ity is split into com­mu­nal sections.

ASECS (Assem­blés des Sec­tions Com­mu­nales) are the foun­da­tion of the sys­tem, which is shaped like a pyra­mid. Each sec­tion elects a Sec­tional Assem­bly, or ASEC. The ASECS play an advi­sory role to the CASECS, which are the actual admin­is­tra­tors of local gov­ern­ment. The ASECS also look over the CASECS shoul­ders, to make sure they are spend­ing the money well.

Each ASEC sends one rep­re­sen­ta­tive to the Munic­i­pal Assem­bly. The Munic­i­pal Assem­bly plays a sim­i­lar watchdog/advisor role at the munic­i­pal level– the mayor is sup­posed to report to it on the use of munic­i­pal resources, and can­not sell state lands in the com­mune with­out the Assembly’s approval. The Munic­i­pal Assem­bly is also respon­si­ble for draw­ing up the list of nom­i­nees for judges in the peace courts in the Department

Each Munic­i­pal Assem­bly sends a rep­re­sen­ta­tive to the Depart­men­tal Assem­bly. The Depart­men­tal Assem­bly actu­ally chooses the mem­bers of the Depart­men­tal Coun­cil, which admin­is­ters the Depart­ment. The Depart­men­tal Assem­bly plays a sim­i­lar watchdog/advisor role at the Depart­men­tal level, and the Depart­men­tal Coun­cil reports to it. The Depart­men­tal Assem­bly is also respon­si­ble for draw­ing up the list of nom­i­nees for judges in the trial courts and appeals courts in the Depart­ment. Each Depart­men­tal Assem­bly nom­i­nates three peo­ple to serve on the national Per­ma­nent Elec­toral Coun­cil (CEP), then the Supreme Court, the exec­u­tive and the leg­is­la­ture each pick three names from that list for the CEP. So no ASEC sys­tem, no Per­ma­nent Elec­toral Coun­cil. No Per­ma­nent Coun­cil, you can always con­test the elec­tion results, because it was run by an uncon­sti­tu­tional Pro­vi­sional Council.

Each Depart­men­tal Assem­bly sends a rep­re­sen­ta­tive to the Inter­de­part­men­tal Assem­bly. The Inter­de­part­men­tal Assem­bly helps the exec­u­tive branch, and is involved in pol­icy plan­ning. The Assem­bly is enti­tled to attend and vote at Min­is­te­r­ial Coun­cil meet­ings that deal with issues within its domain.

So to enter the sys­tem, one needs to be involved in pol­i­tics at the very local level, where it is hard for cen­tral­ized money to pen­e­trate. And can­di­dates can­not enter the sys­tem with the expec­ta­tion that they will make it to the Depart­men­tal Assem­bly, where the power starts to stack up– the chance of any sin­gle ASEC mem­ber reach­ing the Depart­men­tal Assem­bly is less than 1:25. And at the other end, the ASEC sys­tem is the bot­tle­neck through which the CEP and judi­cial nom­i­nees must pass.

Brian Con­can­non Jr. Directs the Insti­tute for Jus­tice & Democ­racy in Haiti, www.HaitiJustice.org.