A veteran Haiti politician who rejected last week having a seat for his party on a new presidential panel to form a new transition government has now said he will participate.
The decision by Platform Petit Desalin party had delayed the completion of the transitional presidential council’s seven-voting members and led to emergency discussions as late as Tuesday night over what to do about the vacant spot.
On Wednesday, the party, founded by former senator and presidential candidate Jean-Charles Moïse, sent a letter to Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley naming a representative. Mottley is among the leaders from the 15-member Caribbean Community regional bloc known as CARICOM that has been trying to help Haitians forge a new path forward after pushing for the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry amid exploding gang violence.
In the letter, the party cited the country’s ongoing violence by armed gangs that this week launched an attack on some of the capital’s wealthier neighborhoods. The letter said that “in view of the growing gravity of the crisis,” the party’s management was designating Emmanuel Vertilaire as its member on the presidential council. Vertilaire, according to sources, is a militant of the party that earlier this year allied itself with former rebel leader and convicted felon Guy Philippe and named him to be part of a three-person presidential council.
The panel was created during a meeting last week of an international coalition that met in Jamaica. The council, which will consist of seven voting members and two observers, will hold presidential powers and name the next prime minister, welcome a multinational force to help Haiti’s police battle gangs, and prepare a path for elections.
Panel members will not be able to run in the next elections, cannot have been indicted or convicted of a crime in any jurisdiction, can; cannot be under United Nations sanctions and must support the multinational security support mission to Haiti.
Last week, Moise had said he could not accept the deployment of a foreign force. He also did not appear prepared to break his alliance with Philippe, pledging to move forward with his own presidential transition that included Philippe.
CARICOM, which delayed sending the eight other names to Henry on Tuesday has not said if it will accept the party’s representative. Henry said he will step down once the presidential panel is officially installed.
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