SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — U.N. development expert Garry Conille was named Haiti's recent prime minister Tuesday night, nearly a month after a coalition inside a fractured transitional council tried to decide on another person for the post.
The long-awaited move got here at a time when gangs proceed to terrorize the capital, Port-au-Prince, opening fire in once peaceful neighborhoods and using heavy equipment to destroy several police stations and prisons.
Council member Louis Gérald Gilles told the Associated Press that six of seven council members eligible to vote voted for Conille on Tuesday. He said one member, Laurent St. Cyr, had not been in Haiti and due to this fact didn’t vote.
Conille has been UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean since January 2023 and previously served as Haiti's Prime Minister from October 2011 to May 2012 under then-President Michel Martelly. He replaces Michel Patrick Boisvert, who was appointed interim Prime Minister after Ariel Henry resigned by letter in late April.
Henry was on an official trip to Kenya when, on February 29, a coalition of powerful gangs launched coordinated attacks, taking control of police stations, shooting at Haiti's predominant international airport and storming the country's two largest prisons, freeing greater than 4,000 inmates.
The attacks left Henry locked overseas and the airport within the capital, Port-au-Prince, remained closed for nearly three months.
Gang violence continues to rise in parts of the Haitian capital and beyond as Conille takes over the federal government of the crisis-ridden Caribbean nation and awaits the deployment of a UN-backed police force from Kenya and other countries.
Conille studied medicine and public health and was involved in developing health care in impoverished communities in Haiti, where he coordinated reconstruction efforts following the devastating earthquake in 2010.
He worked for several years on the United Nations before Martelly appointed him prime minister in 2011. Conille resigned lower than a 12 months later after clashes with the president and his cabinet over an investigation into government officials with dual citizenship, which the Haitian structure doesn’t allow.
Conille faces a difficult task: to contain rampant gang violence while lifting Haiti out of deep poverty, where inflation has reached a record 29%, in line with the most recent available data. In recent years, gangs that control no less than 80% of Port-au-Prince have displaced greater than 360,000 people from their homes. They proceed to regulate key routes from the capital to Haiti's northern and southern regions, often crippling the transport of essential goods.
Conille's appointment as prime minister got here just weeks after former Haitian sports minister Fritz Bélizaire was nominated for the post in late April by a four-member coalition inside the nine-member transitional council. The surprise announcement caused outrage amongst many. Critics said the due process prescribed by the council was not followed. As a result, a brand new process to decide on the prime minister was launched, with dozens of proposals for the post being submitted.
The lengthy process has been criticized from many sides, including by the Haitian civil society group Montana Accord, which has a representative on the Council.
In an announcement on Tuesday, the group accused the council of failing to take “consistent action” since its creation, as “people's suffering continues to worsen as gangs gain control of more and more areas and commit more crimes.”
In addition to electing a brand new prime minister, the nine-member council, seven of whom have voting rights, must also appoint a provisional electoral commission, a prerequisite before elections may be held. The council's non-renewable mandate expires on February 7, 2026, the day a brand new president is because of be sworn in.
In addition to electing a brand new prime minister, the council can also be chargeable for choosing a brand new cabinet and holding parliamentary elections by the top of next 12 months.
The councillors are Emmanuel Vertilaire for Petit Desalin, a celebration led by former senator and presidential candidate Jean-Charles Moïse; Smith Augustin for EDE/RED, a celebration led by former Prime Minister Claude Joseph; Fritz Alphonse Jean of the Montana Accord; Leslie Voltaire for Fanmi Lavalas, the party of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide; Louis Gérald Gilles for the December 21 coalition, which supports former Prime Minister Ariel Henry; Edgard Leblanc Fils for the January 30 collective, which represents parties similar to that of former President Michel Martelly; and Laurent Saint-Cyr for the private sector.
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