Photo: Clarens Siffroy Agence France-Presse A man hoists luggage onto the roof of a truck on Saturday in Port-au-Prince.
France Media Agency in Haiti
Posted at 6:53 a.m.
- Americas
The nine members of the Presidential Transitional Council in Haiti were appointed Tuesday by official decree, a new step towards the establishment of this body intended to restore public order and stability in this country in prey to gang violence.
This much-anticipated Haitian Presidential Transitional Council was created on April 12 by a decree signed by contested Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who resigned in March.
The next day, the nine groups and political parties which will be represented within this council declared themselves “deeply shocked” by the text, affirming that it introduced “major modifications” compared to the agreement concluded the previous week. .
In this decree, the outgoing government took note of the creation of the council, but without mentioning the names of its members.
He then asked “personalities designated by stakeholders” to submit documents to the authorities for approval. This appears to have delayed the establishment of the council, sparking fears that the government could reject some names.
The decree published Tuesday in Le Moniteur, the official newspaper of Haiti, seems to partially respond to this concern, since it explicitly gives the names of the seven members, representing the main political forces and the private sector, and of the two observers without the right to vote.
The members are Smith Augustin (former diplomat), Louis Gérald Gilles (doctor and former senator), Fritz Alphonse Jean (former governor of the central bank of Haiti), Edgar Leblanc Fils (former president of the Senate ), Laurent Saint-Cyr (entrepreneur), Emmanuel Vertilaire (lawyer) and Leslie Voltaire (former minister and diplomat). Evangelical pastor Frinel Joseph and former World Bank official Régine Abraham are named observer members without voting rights.
However, the order specifies that members “shall be required to submit the necessary documents within a reasonable time, and if they are unable to do so, they shall be obliged to resign.”
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The council is meant to ensure a smooth transition when Mr. Henry — appointed days before the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse — leaves office, paving the way for a presidential election.
Without a president or Parliament, Haiti has not had an election since 2016.
The capital is 80% in the hands of criminal gangs, accused of numerous abuses, in particular murders, rapes, looting and kidnappings for ransom.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported last week that nearly 100,000 people had fled the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince in one month to seek safety from the escalation of gang attacks.