Jovenel Moise was sworn in Tuesday as Haiti's president for the next five years after a bruising two-year election cycle, inheriting a struggling economy and a deeply divided society. The 48-year-old entrepreneur took the oath of office in a Parliament chamber packed with Haitian lawmakers and foreign dignitaries from countries including the US, Venezuela and France. He smiled slightly as the Senate leader slipped Haiti's red and blue presidential sash over his left shoulder. Holding his hand on a Bible, he vowed to protect the Constitution and work to improve citizens' lives in the economically strapped nation. Moise is scheduled to outline specifics of his government's priorities in a speech later Tuesday. Moise has said he will focus on boosting the long-neglected countryside, where almost 80 percent of households farm, and bring economic advances to one of the least developed nations in the world. His administration will benefit from a majority in parliament, including lawmakers belonging to factions allied with his Tet Kale party. He is expected to name his prime minister in coming days. But while he won a Nov. 20 election redo with a dominating 55 percent of the votes cast, his critics suggest he did not gain a mandate as barely 20 percent of the electorate bothered to go to the polls. The results withstood challenges by three of his closest rivals. The election victory came more than a year after Moise topped an initial vote in 2015 that was eventually thrown out amid suspicions of fraud. Robert Fatton, a Haitian-born politics professor at the University of Virginia, described the many challenges facing Moise as "herculean." "He has to revive domestic production, increase foreign and local investments, rebuild the moribund agricultural sector, create a sense of national solidarity, and generate a sorely lacking political stability," he said, adding that all this will have to be achieved amid diminishing international assistance. But Fatton suggested that Moise might actually benefit from citizens' low expectations of political leaders following many years of broken promises and failed policies. "If he manages to deliver a modicum of change he may restore a sense of hope for the future," he said. Senate leader Youri Latortue, who led the brief ceremony Tuesday, told the new president that lawmakers in his legislative body were "ready to cooperate with you for the benefit of the country." A businessman from northern Haiti, Moise had never run for office until he was hand-picked to be the Tet Kale party candidate by outgoing President Michel Martelly. Some critics view Moise's ascent with suspicion, suggesting Martelly is using the candidate as a proxy. Moise dismissed the criticism in an interview last year with The Associated Press, saying Martelly will be one of his valued advisers but he is his own man. Late last month, a Haitian judge questioned Moise about a confidential report leaked during campaigning that suggests he might have laundered money and received special treatment to get loans in years before he ran for the country's highest political office. Moise asserts all of his business dealings have been above board. He has blamed rivals for trying to "create instability" in the deeply divided nation with a long history of political tumult and damage his reputation before his swearing-in ceremony. The investigation into Moise is ongoing and it is unclear when it will be resolved.
