The Government of Haiti published this Tuesday a document appointing the nine members of the Presidential Transition Council, called to pilot the transition and restore constitutional order on the island in the face of the serious humanitarian crisis and the wave of criminal violence. that plagues the country.
“The different sectors, in consensus, have formally and knowingly designated their representatives to the Presidential Transition Council, which implies that they have chosen them, taking care to verify that they respond well to the eligibility criteria established by the Constitution and agreed upon in the agreement reached on March 11, 2024 in Kingston, Jamaica,” reads a statement shared by the Office of the Prime Minister of Haiti on its account on the social network X, formerly Twitter.
The Council will be made up of seven members with voting rights – citizens Smith Augustin, Louis Gérald Gilles, Fritz Alphonse Jean, Edgard Leblanc fils, Laurent St Cyr, Emmanuel Vertilaire and Leslie Voltaire – and two others as observers and without right to vote –citizens Régine Abraham and Frinel Joseph–.
At the beginning of last month, the Haitian authorities declared a state of emergency due to the wave of violence registered in the country, especially in the capital, Port-au-Prince, which even led to the assault of prisons and the escape of thousands of prisoners.
One of the country’s great criminal leaders, Jimmy Chérizier, alias ‘Barbecue’, launched an attack against the prime minister, whom he threatened to plunge the country into a “civil war” if he did not resign in the midst of a scene of chaos. absolute given the domination of the gangs over Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, consolidated after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
The acting prime minister, who was stranded in Puerto Rico in the middle of an official visit, finally resigned after an emergency Caricom meeting with delegations from other countries such as the United States and France and promised to leave office once the Council Presidential appoint his successor.
Henry came to power in July 2021, two days before Moise’s assassination, so he was not sworn into office. In a speech before assuming the leadership of the Haitian Government, he called for political unity and a consensus cabinet.
