MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Haitian parties give thumbs down to Transitional Council

The decree distorted previous agreements, it was argued. In the meantime, Henry remains as Prime Minister

Haiti's political movements expressed their rejection during the weekend of last Friday's decree calling for the establishment of a Presidential Transitional Council published Government in the Official Gazette known as Le Moniteur. The mechanism had been devised to restore constitutional order in the Caribbean country where there has been no president since the July 7, 2021, murder of Jovenel Moïse in Port-au-Prince by a mercenary commando of mostly Colombian nationals.

The country's leaders claimed that Prime Minister Ariel Henry had introduced substantial modifications to the way the Council had been projected, thus distorting the original agreements. Friday's document failed to mention the April 3 political agreement whereby the Council was conceived and which would mark the end of Henry's term after he resigned but said he would stay in office until such a body was formed. Henry is unable to return to Haiti and is for now in exile in the United States.

The political forces underlined the need for strict compliance with the commitments assumed by Henry's Government during the negotiations brokered by the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and demanded the disclosure of all data regarding the Council's planned functioning. They also urged the creation of the bipartite commissions for the transfer of power and that the Council be installed as soon as possible in the form and content defined in the political agreement for a peaceful and orderly transition.

The decree for the establishment of the Council was issued almost a month after Henry decided to step down as a result of the severe crisis caused by gang attacks on critical spots in the Haitian capital.

The Council is expected to appoint the new prime minister, who will have the responsibility of heading an interim government leading up to holding presidential elections in early 2026.