The Prime Minister of Haiti was dismissed — he was supposed to prepare the country for presidential elections

Author:
Anastasiia Mohylevets
Date:

Haitiʼs Transitional Council suspended Prime Minister Harry Conil. This happened less than half a year after he took office in May 2024.

This is reported by the BBC.

Harry Conil is an academic and former UN employee. He was appointed to lead Haiti in the midst of a security crisis caused by local gangs. The official was expected to prepare the country for the first presidential election since 2016.

Now Konil is to be replaced by Alix Didier Fils-Eme, a businessman and ex-candidate for the countryʼs senate. The decree was signed by eight out of nine members of the transitional council. The Prime Minister considers his dismissal illegal. The fact is that Haiti has neither a head of state nor a parliament. According to the constitution, only deputies can remove the current head of government.

"This resolution, adopted outside any legal and constitutional framework, raises serious concerns about its legitimacy," Conil said in the letter, which is available to Reuters.

What is happening in Haiti

It all started with the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in his residence on July 7, 2021. His wife was also injured during the attack and was hospitalized in Miami. Haitian authorities reported that the president was killed by a group of 28 mercenaries, all citizens of Colombia and the United States.

After that, the Prime Minister of Haiti, Claude Joseph, temporarily performed the duties of the president. Haitians believe that it was he who caused the growth of the number of gangs — with their help he suppressed any dissent. Joseph later resigned.

New unrest in the country began in February 2024. Haitiʼs acting prime minister at the time, Ariel Henri, flew to Kenya to coordinate the deployment of foreign troops to fight the gangs. The group declared war on the premier, in particular by paralyzing life in the capital and demanding the resignation of Henri.

In March, the country declared a 72-hour state of emergency and a night curfew in the capital and its surroundings due to two cases of escape of almost four thousand prisoners.

Haitian gangs later launched a large-scale assault on several administrative buildings in downtown Port-au-Prince. The US, German and EU embassies in Haiti have begun evacuating their staff due to increased gang violence. In the spring, gangs seized 80% of the capital and demanded the immediate resignation of Henri. He eventually announced he was stepping down after appointing a transition council and an interim replacement.

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