In order to ensure that the long-awaited general elections go place in a nation without democratically elected institutions, Haiti’s prime minister on Monday formally created a transition committee.
Despite widespread skepticism that the council’s establishment will assist the administration in holding elections this year as planned, prime minister Ariel Henry said it was an important step in that direction.
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“It is the beginning of the end of the dysfunction of our democratic institutions,” he said.
Since President Jovenel Mose was assassinated in July 2021, Haiti has not held elections. Soon after Mose’s passing, Henry came to power and pledged that his administration would carry on that commitment.
There were no elected authorities in place for a nation of more than 11 million people when the tenure of the remaining 10 senators ended in early January.
As the nation continues to collapse, with poverty and hunger becoming worse and violence getting worse, Henry urged all Haitians to get together and fight for change. The three council members were also congratulated by the prime minister for agreeing to work with the administration on the “noble and thankless task of serving our country in these difficult times”.
The three members of the council are Laurent Saint-Cyr, head of the Haitian Chamber of Commerce, Calixte Fleuridor, with the Protestant Federation of Haiti, who will represent business, Mirlande Manigat, a law professor and former first lady who will represent political parties.
The council will also be in charge of working with government representatives to update Haiti’s constitution, make economic changes, and lessen violence as gangs continue to gain control following the death of the president and more homicides, kidnappings, and rapes occur on a regular basis.
The members of a provisional electoral council that must exist before election preparation can begin will be chosen by the High Transition Council, as it is known.
