Haiti: Effort to get the country out of the impasse – 2024-04-09 19:24:34

Haitian political leaders have reached an agreement to form a presidential transitional council with a 22-month mandate to restore order in the Caribbean country wracked by political instability and gang violence, according to a document seen Monday by AFP.

The nine-member council—seven members will have voting rights, two will be observers—will comprise representatives of the main parties, the private sector and so-called civil society. His mandate will end “on February 7, 2026,” according to the text.

He is expected to replace controversial de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henri, who announced his resignation on March 11. Last Sunday night, the future members of the council forwarded the agreement and its draft implementing decree to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), an AFP source said.

Schedule

The regional body is expected to share the documents with the outgoing government of Prime Minister Henri, and the formation of the council is expected to be ratified by publication in the official Government Gazette.

His first task will be to choose a prime minister who, in cooperation with him, will form a new caretaker government and lead the country to “democratic, free and credible elections”, the text of the agreement states.

None of the members of the council or the caretaker government will be allowed to stand for election. The negotiations, overseen by CARICOM, have been delayed by disagreements among the participating parties over the appointment of a new prime minister and doubts over whether the body is even legitimate.

The transitional scheme will have three priorities: to restore “security”, to promote “constitutional revision” and “institutional reforms” and to organize “elections”.

The political agreement thus provides for the creation of a national security council, staffed by experts, to oversee the implementation of agreements on international security assistance, above all the development of an international armed force, to which the Security Council has given the green light UN.

Attacks on the capital continue

The transitional council wants to be based in the Palais national (“national palace”, the seat of the presidency and government), in the center of the capital Port-au-Prince, which has been the target of repeated gang attacks in recent weeks.

Gunfire was heard in the area on Monday, residents told AFP. Special police forces units were deployed. Haiti has no president since the assassination of Jovenel Moise in 2021, and no longer a functioning parliament. The most recent elections were held in 2016.

In late February, powerful Haitian gangs, which control more than 80% of the capital and critical thoroughfares, joined forces and began launching attacks on police stations, prisons, the international airport and the main port, with the stated goal of overthrowing de facto prime minister Henri.

He was prevented from returning to the country after his official trip to Kenya to secure guarantees for Nairobi’s participation in the international armed force expected to be deployed in the Caribbean nation with the blessings of the United Nations to help police restore security.

Haitians are facing a severe humanitarian crisis — shortages of food, medicine and other basic necessities.

SOURCE: APE-ME