The brand new transition council in Haiti, set up after the resignation of the contested Prime Minister, chose a president for the body on Tuesday: politician Edgard Leblanc Fils. The announcement was made during an official ceremony broadcast live on Haitian television.
Edgard Leblanc Fils will have a coordinating role within the council, invested last week with the heavy task of trying to restore public order in a country ravaged by gangs.
A majority of the members of the body also proposed the name of Fritz Bélizaire to become Prime Minister, Frinel Joseph, one of the two non-voting members of the council, declared to the audience, promising “ much more explanation” later.
The voting method changed
The new president of the council was selected following an agreement between the seven members with voting rights within the body, and not an internal election as was planned.
“This morning we placed the ballot boxes, the voting booth for nothing,” Frinel Joseph apologized. “But above all what is important is that the majority was clearly cleared. It can happen that there is a change of plan, but it is above all important (…) that the change of plan gives the same result.”
“And the result is that, ladies and gentlemen, today, Tuesday, April 30, we have a well-known president within the presidential council, who will coordinate the council according to the agreement that was reached between the different stakeholder entities “, he continued.
It took several weeks of complex negotiations, marked by reversals, for the council to see the light of day. The cause is disagreements between political parties and other stakeholders, but also with the outgoing government.