Questions persist about the long-awaited transition body tasked with choosing the next prime minister and cabinet.
Haiti has formally established a transition council to fill a leadership void by choosing a new prime minister and to restore order in the Caribbean country ravaged by gang violence.
A decree published in the Official Gazette announced the formation of the Presidential Transitional Council on Friday, a month after Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he would resign amid a wave of armed gang attacks in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
There was no immediate comment from Henry following the publication of the decree and questions remain about the viability of the nine-member council, with no details on a timeline for installing the body and selecting a new prime minister and cabinet.
The decree also did not name the board members, Reuters news agency reported.
It said that Henry and the council would govern the country until the new body named his replacement.
The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), a regional bloc, said in a statement that the council’s mission “is to put Haiti back on the path to dignity, democratic legitimacy, stability and sovereignty and to ensure the proper functioning of state institutions.” ”.
The decree also said the council would help speed up the deployment of international troops that Henry requested in 2022 to help police in their battles with armed and increasingly powerful gangs.
It stipulates that the council be based in the National Palace, in the center of Port-au-Prince, which has been the target of attacks several times in recent weeks.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller welcomed the announcement and said it will help “pave the way for free and fair elections” in the country and accelerate the deployment of a multinational force.
Kim Ives, journalist for the newspaper Haiti Liberte, said that despite the announcement, the political crisis is still far from being resolved.
“The only thing they have done so far is publish it in an official newspaper. It doesn’t actually install them,” he told Al Jazeera.
“The whole thing is completely dysfunctional because all different corners of the very fractured political class are represented.”
Others also see the formation of the council as a solution “made up” in Washington, D.C., and those who participate in it “are seen as traitors,” Ives added.
“Basically, it is not a Haitian solution at all. It’s a Washington solution.”
Political impasse
Haiti has not held elections since 2016 and has been without a president since Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021.
Henry was in Kenya in February, trying to organize the deployment of the international police force, when gangs launched a coordinated attack and demanded the 74-year-old’s resignation.
About 4,000 inmates were freed in gang attacks on Haiti’s two largest prisons. Police stations were attacked and attacks on the country’s airport resulted in Haiti’s isolation from the world.
Since the violence broke out, almost 95,000 people have fled the capital’s metropolitan area, as armed gangs consolidate their control. Haitians lack basic goods as major ports remain closed while the outgoing government remains absent.
In the country of 11 million inhabitants, around one million are on the brink of starvation, according to the United Nations.
Countries including the United States and members of the European Union evacuated their diplomats and nationals as security conditions worsened.
After the decree was published, local media reported more gunshots in parts of Port-au-Prince.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
