Questions remain about the long-awaited transition panel tasked with selecting the next prime minister and cabinet.
Haiti has formally set up an interim council to fill a leadership vacuum by electing a new prime minister and restore order to the Caribbean country devastated 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 announced his resignation amid a wave of attacks by armed gangs in the capital Port-au-Prince.
There was no immediate comment from Henry after the decree was published and questions remain about the viability of the nine-member council, with no indication of a time frame for the body’s establishment and the selection of a new prime minister and cabinet.
The names of the council members were also not mentioned in the decree, the Reuters news agency reported.
It was said that Henry and the council would rule the country until the new body named his successor.
The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), a regional bloc, said in a statement that the council’s mission was to “put Haiti back on the path to dignity, democratic legitimacy, stability and sovereignty and to ensure the orderly functioning of the country.” state institutions.” “.
The decree also said the council would help accelerate the deployment of international troops called for by Henry in 2022 to support police in their battles with armed and increasingly powerful gangs.
It stipulates that the council will be based in the National Palace in the center of Port-au-Prince, which has come under attack several times in recent weeks.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller welcomed the announcement, saying it would help “pave the way for free and fair elections in the country” and accelerate the deployment of a multinational force.
Kim Ives, a journalist with the Haiti Liberte newspaper, said that despite the announcement, the political crisis is far from resolved.
“The only thing they have done so far is publish it in a Journal of Record. It doesn’t actually install them,” he told Al Jazeera.
“The whole thing is completely dysfunctional because all different corners of the very fragmented political class are represented.”
Others also view the formation of the council as a solution “cooked up” in Washington, DC, and those who participate “will be viewed as traitors,” Ives added.
“Fundamentally, this is in no way a Haitian solution. It’s a Washington solution.”
Political impasse
Haiti has not held elections since 2016 and has been without a president since the assassination of Jovenel Moise in 2021.
Henry was in Kenya in February trying to organize the international police operation when gangs launched a coordinated attack demanding the 74-year-old’s resignation.
Around 4,000 inmates were released in group raids on Haiti’s two largest prisons. Police stations were attacked and attacks on the country’s airport left Haiti largely cut off from the world.
Since the violence erupted, nearly 95,000 people have fled the capital area as armed gangs tightened their control. Haitians are lacking basic goods as key ports remain closed and the outgoing government remains absent.
According to the United Nations, about a million people are on the brink of famine in the country of 11 million people.
Countries including the United States and members of the European Union evacuated their diplomats and nationals as security conditions deteriorated.
After the decree was published, local media reported further shootings in parts of Port-au-Prince.