Presidential council makes concessions
Haiti’s new transitional presidential council, already mired in controversy over the way it has made key decisions, is once more doing an about-face. This time it’s over how many votes will be needed to make important decisions such as selecting the country’s next prime minister, and who among them should be in charge of coordinating priorities, signing accords and meeting with foreign dignitaries.
The decision comes amid an internal crisis that risks the council’s unraveling and has led to tense negotiations over the past week. As a result, the majority of the council’s seven-voting members has agreed to invalidate the choice of Edgard Leblanc Fils as president of the council, and institute, instead a rotating presidency among four of them, several people with knowledge of the council’s workings have told the Miami Herald.
The council has also agreed that it will take a super-majority of five of the seven voting members to make decisions when a consensus can’t be reached on major decisions. A document finalizing the new agreement is expected to be signed Wednesday.
The reversal arose after a crisis of the group’s own making when its first major decision after being installed, electing a president among their seven voting members, led to controversy and nearly the council’s implosion. Last week, after summoning journalists to witness a public vote on the election of the group’s leader, the council then announced that such a vote would no longer be needed. An “Indissoluble majority bloc” made up of four members had decided among themselves to choose Leblanc, a former president of the Haitian Senate and candidate for president of the republic.
The new so-called “unbreakable” political alliance had also decided, in violation of their own procedures, who should replace the former prime minister, Ariel Henry. They designated a former minister of youth and sports, Fritz Bélizaire.
The announcements immediately plunged the group into controversy. The three members of the minority bloc accused the other four, along with the four sectors of Haitian society that had named them, of violating the April 3 political accord they all signed, and which dictates how they should function. Others accused the majority bloc and the political party leaders aligned with them of cutting a backroom deal to control important government ministries with the goal of lining their pockets and taking charge of the electoral machinery ahead of general elections. The elections, which have not yet been scheduled, is among the measures the council will be tasked with organizing.
The latest reversal marks the second time in less than a week the group has changed its mind. Last week, the majority bloc announced that members would return to their original political agreement to choose a prime minister from a pool of applicants, and have since been accepting applications.
But the conflict within the council has led to lost time while adding to doubts about whether the formula of a multi-headed executive will work in Haiti, and whether the group can put aside self-interest and political rivalries to address the various crises confronting Haiti. The country has not seen a commercial flight land at it main seaport since March 4 and is facing deepening hunger amid skyrocketing prices, a closed government seaport and gangcontrolled roads blocking goods from moving.
“The members of the presidential council have the heavy responsibility of leading this transition and demonstrating good governance and transparency in their decisions in order to restore confidence among the population in their leaders and elites,” a network of Haitian civil society associations and organizations said in a statement.