(Port-au-Prince) The presidential transitional council in Haiti, born of long and difficult negotiations, was sworn in Thursday after the official resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, and must now tackle the heavy task of governing a country plagued by gang violence.
The nine members of the council – eight men and one woman – were invested during a two-stage ceremony: first at the presidential palace, where they were greeted by a fanfare, then at the Welcome Villa, headquarters of the Haitian Prime Minister, in the presence of representatives of the diplomatic corps and civil society.
The United States judged that this was a “crucial” step for the organization of elections in a country which has not known one since 2016. The UN welcomed the establishment of the body and called on the new authorities to “accelerate the full implementation” of their commitments.
As the council took office, bursts of automatic weapons were heard in downtown Port-au-Prince, near the presidential palace, and in the suburban Delmas, a reminder that despite cautious political progress, the population remains trapped in violence.
These were gang attacks and armed clashes, local residents told AFP.
“Madam and Gentlemen, members of the transition council, this morning’s ceremony officially gives you the reins of the destiny of the nation and its people,” the interim Prime Minister, Michel Patrick Boisvert, told the new authorities.
“It is a relief for the country which will thus be able to continue to hope and believe in possible change,” he added, emphasizing “the heavy responsibility” that the body now assumes.
” Bitter failure ”
The council’s first priority is “restoring public safety,” said one of its members, Régine Abraham.
She also pointed out, in a severe tone, “the bitter failure” of the outgoing government, “which has completely abandoned its responsibility to protect its population against criminal violence”.
At the same time, the contested Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who announced in March that he would resign once the new authorities were installed, formalized the departure of his government in a letter dated Wednesday but made public on Thursday.
Pending the formation of a new cabinet, Michel Patrick Boisvert was appointed interim prime minister.
Mr. Boisvert had already signed a number of official press releases in recent weeks, Ariel Henry having been unable to return to his country after a trip to Kenya and being in the United States.
The transition council must now form a new government and appoint a prime minister.
Gang violence
PHOTO RAMON ESPINOSA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Haiti has suffered from chronic political instability for decades.
It took several weeks of complex negotiations, marked by reversals, for the council to see the light of day. The cause is disagreements between political parties and other stakeholders but also with the outgoing government.
The body is composed of seven voting members, representing the main political forces in Haiti and the private sector. Two observers without the right to vote also represent the voice of civil society, the other of the religious community.
Haiti has suffered from chronic political instability for decades. But at the end of February, the gangs, whose violence was already ravaging entire sections of the territory, launched coordinated attacks against strategic sites, saying they wanted to overthrow Ariel Henry.
The latter, appointed a few days before the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, was strongly contested.
On March 11, the same day that a meeting was held between Haitians and several organizations and countries such as the United States, he announced that he would resign to make way for a transitional council.
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.
A UN-backed international security mission supposed to be led by Kenya is still in limbo.
The UN Secretary General again urged Thursday for the “rapid” deployment of this force, according to his spokesperson.