A new transitional governing council was finalized in Haiti on Friday to try to bring political stability to a country ravaged by rising gang violence and a worsening humanitarian crisis.
The formation of the council, announced in an official state bulletin, comes after gangs who have a brutal hold on much of the capital prevented the prime minister, Ariel Henry, from returning to the country after a trip abroad and ultimately prompted to announce his resignation.
The transitional presidential council is tasked with restoring law and order by appointing an interim prime minister to head a new government and paving the way for the election of a new president.
A coalition of armed gangs has been in control of most of the capital Port-au-Prince since it launched an offensive in late February, destroying police stations and government offices, looting banks and hospitals and killing and kidnapping hundreds of people.
The establishment of the council was decided in Jamaica last month by a regional bloc of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM, together with the United States, France and Canada, after it became clear that Henry would no longer be able to govern Haiti.
But the selection of the body’s members was delayed after several names were withdrawn over safety concerns or because ethical issues became a concern.
Mr Henry left Haiti for Kenya in early March to finalize a deal for a 2,500-member multinational force, led by the East African nation, to deploy and tackle the gangs.
The council includes members of Haiti’s main political parties and coalitions, as well as representatives of the private sector, civil society, the Haitian diaspora and religious leaders. The council’s mandate calls for a new president to take office in February 2026, but does not specify when elections will be held.
As a condition of joining the body, all members agreed to support the deployment of the Kenya-led mission. Anyone who was under indictment, faced sanctions from the United Nations or intended to run in the next election was barred from the council.
Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, known as Barbecue, had threatened to attack anyone who joined the new government, describing the transition as an illegitimate invention of Haiti’s corrupt political system.
“Cut off their heads and burn their houses,” he told his gang members, using a 19th-century war cry for Haitian independence.
While the establishment of the Council is widely seen as a positive step, experts say many challenges still remain.
“Will it have the ability to silence the weapons of the armed men?” asked Robert Fatton, a Haitian-born political scientist at the University of Virginia. “How can it be installed safely and how can it begin to govern in an environment of widespread insecurity?”
Some Haitians questioned the constitutional legitimacy of the Council, and protesters tried to prevent the official announcement from being printed Thursday at the offices of Le Moniteur, the official state newsletter.
The council will first be sworn in at the National Palace in downtown Port-au-Prince, the scene of some of the heaviest clashes between gang members and Haitian police.
The multinational security force meant to tackle the gangs remains unfunded, despite the Biden administration’s promise of $300 million. So far, Congress has approved only $10 million of that commitment. After the transition, President Biden moved quickly to announce the disbursement of the tender A loan of 60 million dollars for the multinational force and the Haitian police, consisting of equipment and training.
“We are at a turning point and we need a solution now,” U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Florida Democrat and the only Haitian American in Congress, said on the House floor this week. “Haitians can no longer wait for the multinational security mission.”
The Biden administration has pushed hard for the establishment of the transition council, which comes just days after the arrival of a new U.S. ambassador, Dennis Hankins, a senior diplomat who previously served in Haiti.
“I recognize that these are difficult times for the Haitian people,” he said in a statement. “Haitians deserve to be represented by elected officials who are accountable to the people.”
The United Nations human rights office reported this month that more than 1,500 people have been killed in Haiti this year, the result of what it described as a “catastrophic situation” in the country.
Corruption, impunity and poor governance, coupled with rising levels of gang violence, have brought the Caribbean nation’s state institutions “close to collapse”, the agency said.
Local aid agencies have also reported shortages of food and fuel after the capital’s main port closed. Several countries, including the United States, Canada and France, have evacuated hundreds of stranded citizens by emergency flights and by helicopter.
The World Food Program said Haiti was suffering its worst levels of food insecurity on record after gangs took control of farmland and blocked roads in and out of the capital, extorting buses and trucks carrying goods.
The program, a United Nations agency, warned on Thursday that its supplies in Haiti could run out by the end of the month.
“We can only hope that the Transitional Council is ready to deliver,” said Reginald Delva, a Haitian security advisor and former Haitian government minister. “The population can no longer wait.”
“We are facing the worst humanitarian and health crisis,” he added. “A new government is a priority to get the ball rolling. Political leaders must put aside their differences and make the population a priority.”
