MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Haiti's transition council appoints new Prime Minister

Garry Conille has already been Prime Minister between Oct. 2011 and May 2012 (Pic EFE)

Haiti's transitional council managed to appoint a prime minister this week as the Caribbean country keeps fighting street gangs for effective control of Port-au-Prince and other key locations nationwide. Garry Conille has been chosen for the post he already held between Oct. 2011 and May 2012 under then-President Michel Martelly. Conille has been UNICEF's regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean since January 2023.

According to Councilman Louis Gérald Gilles, six out of seven council members with voting power chose Conille while Laurent St. Cyr was not in Haiti at the time and therefore did not vote. Conille replaces Michel Patrick Boisvert, who was named interim prime minister after Ariel Henry resigned via letter in late April.

The new selection came weeks after former Haitian Sports Minister Fritz Bélizaire was chosen in late April by a four-member coalition within the nine-member transitional council prompting negative reactions because proper procedure had not been followed. Only seven of the nine council members have voting powers. The council's nonrenewable mandate expires on Feb. 7, 2026, when a new president is scheduled to be sworn in.

Conille worked at the United Nations for years before Martelly appointed him prime minister in 2011. He resigned after just a few months over clashes with the head of state and his cabinet over an investigation into government officials having dual nationality, which is not allowed by Haiti's constitution.

The new PM faces a country where at least 80% of its capital city is under gang control and over 360,000 people have been displaced from their homes. The rebels also control key roads from the capital to the northern and southern regions.

Upon taking office, Conille addressed the nation in a pre-recorded message in which he promised to work closely with the Transitional Council to pull the country out of its current impasse. “I accept this designation with great humility, especially considering the list of candidates. I thank the counselors and the organizations they represent for their trust. I commit to working closely with all counselors to address the urgent problems the country faces,” he stated. “I could not accept this responsibility without counting on such solidarity.”

“Despite the significant challenges ahead, I am convinced we have made progress. This is the first time in several generations that political groups of different tendencies and long-time competitors agree on an independent, non-partisan personality to help rebuild democracy,” he noted.

The new Prime Minister was in Antigua and Barbuda at the time of his nomination. As of Friday, he had yet to officially confirm his presence in Port-au-Prince, according to local media.

Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) nations welcomed Conille's appointment but warned that there were still many challenges ahead. “Caricom looks forward to the early completion of the process to officially establish the institutions of transitional governance in accordance with the agreement of 11 March 2024,” the organization stressed in a statement.