The members of the new transitional council established in Haiti has been announced and it’s first task will be to choose a new Prime Minister and establish a new Cabinet.
Current Prime Minister, Ariel Henry is expected to resign in the coming days.
Residents of Port-Au-Prince were hopeful and optimistic that this long-awaited announcement will bring about relative peace and security in the capital.
The Caribbean country has been besieged by criminal gangs since the assassination of its former President Jovenel Moise
The announcement comes a month after Caribbean leaders announced plans to establish the nine-member panel, with seven members awarded voting powers.
The voting members are former Central Bank Governor Fritz Alphonse Jean, former Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Smith Augustin, Barrister Emmanuel Vertilaire, former Senate President Edgard Leblanc, ex-Senator Louis Gerald Gilles, businessman, Laurent Saint-Cyr and a former diplomat Leslie Voltaire.
The non-voting observers are evangelical Pastor Frinel Joseph and Regine Abraham who previously worked for the World Bank as well as Haiti’s Environment Ministry.
Many hope this new development could help chart a new path for Haiti and end the widespread gang violence that has paralysed activities in most of the capital for weeks.
According to the United Nations, over 1500 people have been killed across Haiti and many injured in the violence that began since the turn of the year. Almost 100,000 people have been forced to flee the capital
Asides setting the agenda for a new Cabinet, the council will appoint members of a new Provisional Electoral Council, which is needed before elections are held.
A new President must be sworn in not later than February 7, 2026.
