New Government could be in place today

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — Less than 48 hours after the “Core Group” of international diplomats called on interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph to step down and allow for designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry to form a “consensual and inclusive” Government, Haitian authorities yesterday announced the possible formation of a new Government by today.

Henry had been named as the country’s seventh prime minister since 2017 by President Jovenel Moïse two days before he was assassinated by gunmen at his private residence overlooking the capital on July 7.

But Henry was never sworn into office and following Moïse’s death, Joseph had been running the country and had announced that presidential and legislative elections would be held on September 26, with the second round scheduled for November.

Last Saturday, the Core Group, representing countries such as Germany, Brazil, Spain, the United States, France, the European Union and representatives from the United Nations and the Organization of American

States (OAS), appeared to snub

Joseph, urging that the designated prime minister be allowed to form a Government.

The group also called for a “consensual and inclusive Government,” adding, “to this end, it strongly encourages the designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry to continue the mission entrusted to him to form such a Government”.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who until earlier this month was also the chairman of the 15-member Caribbean Community (Caricom) grouping of which Haiti is a member, said that the statement by the Core Group was not just about a snub for Joseph.

“The real snub and outright insult is the absence of even a mention (far less recognition in any form) of Caricom. Haiti is a full member of Caricom, its largest member, and this lack of recognition and involvement, combined, is an insult to all of us, coming from those who designate themselves the Core Group, Rowley said.

The Core Group statement was issued hours after

Moïse’s wife, Martine, returned here from the

United States, where she had been seeking medical treatment, having been injured during the armed attack that killed her

54-year-old husband.