PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) 鈥 A surprise announcement that revealed Haiti鈥檚 new prime minister is threatening to fracture a recently installed transitional council tasked with choosing new leaders for the gang-riddled Caribbean country.
Four of seven said Tuesday that they had chosen Fritz B茅lizaire as prime minister, taking many Haitians aback with their declaration and unexpected political alliance.
The council members who oppose B茅lizaire, who served as Haiti鈥檚 sports minister during the second presidency of Ren茅 Pr茅val from 2006 to 2011, are now weighing options including fighting the decision or resigning from the council.
A person with direct knowledge of the situation who did not want to be identified because negotiations are ongoing said had been violated by the unexpected move and that some council members are considering other choices as potential prime minister.
The council on Tuesday was scheduled to hold an election and choose its president. But two hours and a profuse apology later, one council member said that not only a council president had been chosen, but a prime minister as well. Murmurs rippled through the room.
The Montana Accord, a civil society group represented by a council member with voting powers, denounced in a statement late Tuesday what it called a 鈥渃omplot鈥 hatched by four council members against the Haitian people 鈥渋n the middle of the night.鈥
鈥淭he political and economic mafia forces have decided to take control of the presidential council and the government so that they can continue to control the state,鈥 the Montana Accord said.
Haitian politics have long been characterized by secretive dealings, but many worry the country cannot afford further political instability as of Port-au-Prince and beyond.
鈥淧eople change parties (like) they鈥檙e changing their shirts,鈥 said Fran莽ois Pierre-Louis, a professor of political science at Queens College in New York and former Haitian politician.
He spoke during an online webinar on Tuesday evening.
Like others, he said he believed that Jean-Charles Mo茂se, a powerful politician who was a former senator and presidential candidate, was behind B茅lizaire鈥檚 nomination.
鈥淚nterestingly, Mo茂se, of all the politicians there, is the one calling the shots,鈥 Pierre-Louis said.
Mo茂se, however, does not sit on the council. His party, Pitit Desalin, is represented by Emmanuel Vertilaire, who is among the four council members who support B茅lizaire.
The others are Louis G茅rald Gilles, Smith Augustin and Edgard Leblanc Fils, the council鈥檚 new president.
They could not be immediately reached for comment.
A document shared with The Associated Press and signed by the four council members who chose the new prime minister state they have agreed to make decisions by consensus. The document is titled, 鈥淐onstitution of an Indissoluble Majority Bloc within the Presidential Council.鈥
The move prompted the Fanmi Lavalas party to issue a statement Wednesday calling it a 鈥渕asquerade鈥 and 鈥渃onspiracy鈥 to guarantee that PHTK 鈥渢hugs and their allies retain power鈥nd continue the tradition of corruption.鈥
鈥淭he Lavalas Family strongly rejects the betrayal scandal that occurred on April 30,鈥 the party said.
Fils represents the January 30 political group, which is made up of parties including PHTK, whose members include former President Michel Martelly and slain President Jovenel Mo茂se. Meanwhile, Augustin represents the EDE/RED political party, founded by former Prime Minister Claude Joseph, and Gilles represents the Dec. 21 agreement, which is associated with f who recently resigned.
Henry was on an official visit to Kenya to push for the U.N.-backed deployment of a police force from the East African country when gangs in Haiti launched coordinated attacks starting Feb. 29.
They have burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport that remains closed since early March and stormed Haiti鈥檚 two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates. The violence continues unabated in certain part of Port-au-Prince, including the area around the 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Palace.
Haitians are demanding that security be a top priority for the council, which is tasked with selecting a new prime minister and Cabinet, as well as prepare for eventual general elections.
But some Haitians are wary of the council and the decisions it鈥檚 taking.
Jean Selc茅, a 57-year-old electrician, noted that most of the council members are longtime politicians: 鈥淭heir past is not really positive.鈥
鈥淚 hope their mentality can change, but I don鈥檛 believe it will,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 really love the country. Who鈥檚 dying right now? It鈥檚 Haitians like me.鈥
Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia, noted that some of the parties represented on the council are responsible for the current chaos in Haiti.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a contradiction,鈥 he said. 鈥淓very time we seem to be in a crisis, we reappoint the same people and hope that they change their ways, but they do not.鈥
Raising the same criticism is Michael Deibert, author of 鈥淣otes From the Last Testament: The Struggle for Haiti,鈥 and 鈥淗aiti Will Not Perish: A Recent History.鈥
He noted in a recent essay that the council is 鈥渄ominated by the same political currents who have spent the last 25 years driving Haiti over a cliff, taking advantage of impoverished young men in the slums to be used as political bludgeons before - bloated on the proceeds from kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking and other criminal enterprises - these groups outgrew the necessity of their patrons.鈥
More than 2,500 people have been killed or injured across Haiti from January to March, according to the U.N.
In addition, more than 90,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince in just one month given the relentless gang violence.
