The chaotic negotiations to appoint a transitional presidential council in Haiti are at a dead end, hours after the annulment of a vote on who should head these new authorities, while the population suffers daily the consequences of gang violence.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry, highly questioned by the increase in insecurity and for coming to power without submitting to a popular vote, agreed to hand over command to a “transitional presidential council” two weeks ago.
But this group, which must represent the main political forces in the country, as well as the private sector, civil society and the religious community, has not yet materialized.
On Monday night, the candidates for those new authorities, many of them barely chosen after tense conversations, were scheduled to elect the person in charge of leading the council.
But their meeting was postponed after several representatives of the group backed out, one of its members told AFP on condition of anonymity.
In a letter sent to his colleagues, the representative of the Fanmi Lavalas party, Leslie Voltaire, stated that the election of a president was not possible without a “political agreement signed by the different sectors.”
And when the composition of the presidential council finally seemed complete, René Jean Jumeau, one of the two non-voting observers expected in the group, threw in the towel.
“The need for concrete action is too strong to remain, helpless, in the position of the spectator,” Jumeau, who demanded to be able to vote, said in a letter.
«Blocked country»
The transitional council was announced on March 11 following meetings among Haitians supervised by the Caribbean Community (Caricom).
For Gédéon Jean, who was at those meetings as a member of civil society, it is time for the international community to “get back to work” to “push the actors” in Haiti towards an agreement.
Otherwise, the formation of the transitional authorities will take “months and months,” the director of the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights (CARDH), a Haitian NGO, told AFP.
“We can’t leave a country blocked (in this way), and the actors really can’t get along,” he insisted.
Insecurity in Haiti
The population continues to pay, meanwhile, a high price for instability.
The director of Unicef, Catherine Russell, warned this Tuesday that the lives of “countless children” are in danger as a result of the crisis that is ravaging Haiti.
And the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported 10 suspected cases of cholera at a school that serves as a shelter for people displaced by violence.
The shootings stopped in Port-au-Prince this Tuesday, but the night before, the gang members who control the city looted and burned pharmacies, clinics and homes near the State University Hospital, according to the testimony of three residents.
That establishment, the largest public hospital in the country, is out of service because of armed gangs.
Shops opened their doors in the capital and waiting lines have formed at gas stations after days of shortages.
The UN last year promised an international force to restore security in Haiti, led by 1,000 Kenyan police. But its entry into force has been delayed by a lack of funding and Kenya’s decision not to send its agents until the installation of the transitional council.
For Gédéon Jean, who considers security a priority issue, it is necessary to send an “intermediate force” to await the UN mission.
This force could be created by the countries of the region, according to him, to “intervene, reinforce the Haitian national police and stop the advance of the gangs.”
On Tuesday, the White House announced that President Joe Biden had approved the payment of up to $10 million to help Haitian security forces “protect civilians and vital infrastructure from gang attacks.”
The entry The appointment of the new authorities in Haiti, at a standstill due to disagreements, was first published in EL NACIONAL.