With the establishment of a transitional council in Haiti, many are hoping that
this may be the start of the turnaround that the country needs, but one political
analyst remains a bit skeptical.
Haiti created the body to fill a leadership vacuum by choosing a new prime
minister, and to restore order in the Caribbean country ravaged by gang
violence.
A decree published in the official gazette announced the formation of the
Presidential Transitional Council on Friday.
It stipulates that the council be based in the National Palace in central Port-au-
Prince, which has come under fire several times in the past weeks.
CARICOM said in a statement that the council’s mission “is to put Haiti back
on the road to dignity, democratic legitimacy, stability, and sovereignty and to
ensure the proper functioning of the State’s institutions”.
Peter Wickham, the director of the Caribbean Development Research Services
(CADRES) explains that with such a complex situation in Haiti, while he
remains hopeful, this new initiative may not bring about much change.
“I don’t know if we have the capacity to do a whole lot more. I think it’s good
that CARICOM as a regional partner is attempting to say let’s see if we can
have a solution at the political level and then let’s see if we can get some
military support. The reality is that the military support is going to be absolutely
important but none of us really have the resources to offer in a significant way
to deal with the problem.
“I am hopeful that this will work. This idea of a political solution…. but the
reality is that the political instability in Haiti is frenetic. Simple solutions have
been somewhat elusive, and I just have to sit back and see. It’s a complex
situation,” Wickham said.
Questions remain about the nine-member council’s viability with no details on a
timeframe to install the body and select a new prime minister and cabinet.
The decree also did not name the members of the council.
It said Henry and the council will govern the country until the new body names
his replacement.
The decree also said the council would help speed the deployment of
international troops that Henry requested in 2022 to aid police in their battles
with armed and increasingly powerful gangs.
Haiti has not held elections since 2016 and has been without a president since
Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021.
Since the violence erupted, nearly 95,000 people have fled the metropolitan area
of the capital as armed gangs cemented their control. Haitians lack basic goods
as key ports remain closed, while the outgoing government remains absent.
