A surprise announcement was revealed new prime minister of haiti Threats are being made to disband the recently established transitional council to choose new leaders for the gang-plagued Caribbean country.
Four of the seven council members with voting powers said Tuesday they had chosen Fritz Belizaire as prime minister, surprising many Haitians with his announcement and unexpected political alliance.
Haiti council appoints new prime minister as country faces deadly gang violence
Council members opposing Belizaire, who served as Haiti’s sports minister during René Préval’s second presidency from 2006 to 2011, are now considering options including fighting the decision or resigning from the council.
A person with direct knowledge of the situation, who did not want to be identified as negotiations were ongoing, said the unexpected move violated the council’s political agreement and that some council members were considering other options as a potential prime minister. are considering.
Edgard Leblanc Fils, left, and Smith Augustin prepare to pose for a group photo with the transitional council after naming Fils as its president on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Transitional Council will function in this capacity. The country may arrange for presidential elections shortly before the presidency is dissolved, which should take place by February 2026. (AP Photo/Odlin Joseph)
The council was to hold elections on Tuesday and choose its president. But after two hours and profuse apologies, a council member said that not only had a council president been elected, but a prime minister had also been elected. A murmur echoed in the room.
Montana Accord, a civil society group represented by one council member with voting powers, condemned in a statement late Tuesday what it called a “plot hatched against the Haitian people in the middle of the night” by four council members. ” where did it go.
“Political and economic mafia forces have decided to take control of the Presidential Council and the government so that they can continue to control the state,” the Montana agreement said.
Haitian politics has long been characterized by secret dealings, but many worry the country cannot afford further political instability as gangs lay siege to the capital in Port-au-Prince and beyond.
“People change parties (like) they’re changing their shirts,” said François Pierre-Louis, a political science professor at Queens College in New York and a former Haitian politician.
He said this during an online webinar on Tuesday evening.
Like others, he said he believed Jean-Charles Moise, a powerful politician who was a former senator and presidential candidate, was behind Belizaire’s nomination.
“The interesting thing is that out of all the politicians there, Moise is the one who is making the decisions,” Pierre-Louis said.
However, Moise does not sit on the council. His party, Petit Dessalines, is represented by Emmanuel Vertillaire, one of four council members supporting Belizaire.
The others are Louis Gerald Gilles, Smith Augustin and the new president of the council, Edgard Leblanc Fils.
He could not be immediately reached for comment.
A document shared with The Associated Press and signed by the four council members who chose the new prime minister said they agreed to take the decision by consensus. The document is titled, “Constitution of an Indivisible Majority Bloc within the Presidential Council.”
The move prompted the Fanmi Lavalas Party to issue a statement on Wednesday, calling it a “pretext” and a “conspiracy” to guarantee that PHTK “thugs and their allies remain in power… and Continue the tradition of corruption.”
“The Lawala family strongly rejects the betrayal scandal that occurred on April 30,” the party said.
Fils represents the January 30 political group, made up of parties including PHTK, whose members include former President Michel Martelly and slain President Jovenel Moise. Meanwhile, Augustin represents the EDE/RED political party founded by former Prime Minister Claude Joseph, and Gilles represents the Agreement of 21 December, which belongs to Former Prime Minister Ariel HenryWho recently resigned.
Henry was on an official visit to Kenya to push for the deployment of a UN-backed police force from the East African country when gangs in Haiti began coordinated attacks on February 29.
They have burned police stations, opened fire at the main international airport, which has been closed since early March, and stormed Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 prisoners. Violence continues unabated in parts of Port-au-Prince, including the area around the National Palace.
Haitians are demanding that security be the top priority for the council, which is tasked with selecting a new prime minister and Cabinet as well as preparing for the final general elections.
But some Haitians are wary of the council and the decisions it is making.
Jean Celse, a 57-year-old electrician, said most of the council members are longtime politicians: “Their past is not really positive.”
“I hope their mentality can change, but I don’t believe it will,” he said. “They don’t really love the country. Who’s dying right now? It’s Haitians like me.”
Robert Fatton, an expert on Haitian politics at the University of Virginia, said that some of the parties represented in the council are responsible for the current chaos in Haiti.
“It’s a contradiction,” he said. “Every time we have a crisis we rehire the same people and expect them to change their ways, but they don’t.”
Michael Debert, author of “Notes from the Last Testament: The Struggle for Haiti” and “Haiti Will Not Perish: A Recent History”, also raises the same criticism.
He noted in a recent essay that the Council is “dominated by the same political currents that have pushed Haiti over a cliff over the past 25 years, taking advantage of poor youth in the slums and using them as political weapons “Blowing on the proceeds from kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking and other criminal enterprises, these groups financed the needs of their patrons.”
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More than 2,500 people have been killed or injured in Haiti from January to March, according to the United Nations
Apart from this, more than 90,000 people have migrated Port-au-Prince In just one month, given the continuing gang violence.
