PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- A transitional council tasked with choosing Haiti's next prime minister and Cabinet was established Friday in a move supporters hope will help quell turmoil in the troubled Caribbean country where most of the capital remains under the grip of criminal gangs.
The formation of the council, announced in a decree published Friday in a Haitian government gazette, was expected to soon trigger the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, but a new provision said he would step down when a new premier is chosen. Henry did not immediately comment.
Those awarded a seat on the council are Petit Desalin, a party led by former senator and presidential candidate Jean-Charles Moïse; EDE/RED, a party led by former Prime Minister Claude Joseph; the Montana Accord, a group of civil society leaders, political parties and others; Fanmi Lavalas, the party of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide; the Jan. 30 Collective, which represents parties including that of former President Michel Martelly; and the private sector.
The two nonvoting seats are represented by someone from Haiti's civil society and its religious sector.
"The establishment of the ... politically inclusive council signals the possibility of a new beginning for Haiti," a Caribbean trade bloc known as Caricom, who helped form the council, said in a statement.
It said that the council "will take the troubled country through elections to the restoration of the lapsed state institutions and constitutional government."
"It is also clear that one of the first priorities of the newly installed Presidential Council will be to urgently address the security situation so that Haitians can go about their daily lives in a normal manner; safely access food, water and medical services; children can return to school; women can move around without fear of horrific abuses; and so that businesses can reopen," Caricom said.
The published decree acknowledged what it called "a multidimensional crisis" that has worsened since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. It said the crisis has led to a "catastrophic humanitarian situation" and that Haiti is experiencing "unprecedented institutional dysfunction, which has led to a political impasse."
The decree, which was signed by Henry and his Cabinet, noted that no one can be a member of the council if they have been sanctioned by the U.N., oppose the deployment of a foreign armed force or plan to run in the next general election, among other conditions.
While an election date hasn't been set, the decree stated that the president-elect must be sworn in on Feb. 7, 2026, at the latest, and that the council will exercise presidential powers until then.
The council also will be responsible for helping set the agenda of a new Cabinet and will appoint members to form a provisional electoral council, which is needed before elections are held. It also will establish a national security council whose responsibilities have not been decided.
The decree does not set any deadlines for choosing a new prime minister or Cabinet, stating only that the council must "quickly" do so.
The council will be based at the National Palace, and its mandate is supposed to end when a new president is sworn in, with no possibility of extension.
More than 1,550 people have been killed across Haiti and more than 820 injured from January to March 22, according to the U.N.
In addition, gang violence has forced nearly 95,000 people to flee Port-au-Prince in the span of one month, with more than half of them having previously been left homeless as gunmen raze neighborhoods, the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration said Friday.
A street vendor balances a basket of vegetables on her head in the Petion-Ville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
A worker unloads sacks of rice at a market in the Petion-Ville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Passengers are transported in a mini-bus in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Canadian soldiers stand guard on the rooftop of their embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)