PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- An attack on President Rene Preval's sister hours after he announced he would create a new government by decree has led to fears of another spiral of violence in Haiti.
Preval's sister, Marie-Claude Calvin, was in stable condition early Wednesday after being shot in the neck, chest and leg. The motive for the attack, which killed her driver -- was not known.But there were worries that it might portend more unrest resulting from the seemingly intractable political crisis deepened by Preval's announcement.
Preval said late Monday he was no longer recognizing the validity of a parliament that spurned four successive nominees for premier in the 19 months since Rosny Smarth resigned, accusing the president of complicity in election fraud.
He said parliament's term ran out Monday -- the original end of term -- despite a recent vote by the lawmakers extending their mandate until after elections, which are not currently scheduled.
The president's declaration dealt a blow to Haiti's flagging experiment with democracy. Haiti has suffered four military coups since 1986, when a popular uprising brought an end to the Duvalier family's 29-year dictatorship.
Opposition lawmakers said Preval placed the nation -- the poorest in the Western hemisphere -- on the road to dictatorship again.
The last one was ousted in 1994, when President Clinton sent 20,000 U.S. soldiers to restore former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power after three years of repressive military-backed rule.
"Preval has become a dictator," said Rep. Arry Marsan of the majority Struggling People's Organization party. Senate President Edgard Leblanc said Preval "staged a coup against our democratic institutions."
Despite the tension, Port-au-Prince was quiet Tuesday night, and there were no arrests after the shooting.
Calvin's injuries weren't life-threatening, said Dr. Bernard Leveque of University Hospital.
Preval's sister works as a personal secretary in charge of correspondence for him.