Tue | May 21, 2024

Haiti’s transitional council names new prime minister in hopes of quelling stifling violence

Published:Tuesday | April 30, 2024 | 2:49 PM
Ex-senator Louis Gerald Gilles, from left to right, pastor Frinel Joseph, barrister Emmanuel Vertilaire, businessman Laurent Saint-Cyr, interim Prime Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert, Judge Jean Joseph Lebrun, who is not a member of the council, former senate president Edgard Leblanc, Regine Abraham, former central bank governor Fritz Alphonse Jean, former diplomat Leslie Voltaire and former ambassador to the Dominican Republic Smith Augustin, pose for a group photo during an installation ceremony, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti's newly installed transitional council chose former Sports Minister Fritz Bélizaire as the Caribbean country's prime minister Tuesday as it presses forward in its monumental task of trying to establish a stable new government amid stifling violence.

Bélizaire replaces Michel Patrick Boisvert, the former minister of economy and finance who was the current interim prime minister. Bélizaire is little known and even some members of the council said they were unfamiliar with him.

The nine-member transitional council, seven of whom have voting rights, was choosing a new prime minister and Cabinet in a bid to help quell gang violence that is choking the capital, Port-au-Prince, and beyond. Bélizaire had the support of four of the council's voting members.

Heavy gunfire was reported in several neighbourhoods in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, including near the National Palace, although it wasn't immediately clear if it was in response to the unexpected announcement of a new prime minister.

More than 90,000 people have fled the capital in the span of one month, and overall, more than 360,000 people have been left homeless in recent years as gunmen raze communities in rival territories.

Earlier on Tuesday, the council chose Edgard Leblanc Fils, a former presidential candidate, as its president.

“This is a very good choice for prime minister,” Fils said of Bélizaire during a brief speech to nearly two dozen attendees. “The important thing for us is this will, this determination to go beyond divisions, to overcome conflicts and to reach a consensus.”

He said the council met Monday with army and police officials to talk about Haiti's security crisis and how best to resolve it.

“We are publicly recognising the suffering,” he said of the population.

The announcement of Bélizaire came as a surprise. A murmur rose through the attendees as officials announced that four council members with voting powers had selected Bélizaire as prime minister.

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