Haiti's interim government selects a new council president and recommends an acting prime minister.
The council, which plays a crucial role in facilitating elections and managing the nation's deteriorating security issues, on Tuesday selected Edgard Leblanc Fils as its president and put forward Fritz Bélizaire as the new interim prime minister.
This nine-person council, which took its oath at the National Palace a week ago, is made up of seven voting members and was assisted in its establishment by the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). Its duties include choosing a new prime minister and cabinet.
The council will take over some of the president's responsibilities until a newly elected president is sworn in by February 7, 2026.
Ariel Henry, the former prime minister, stepped down last week as the council was inaugurated, and Michael Patrick Boisvert, the former finance minister, has been filling the void on a temporary basis.
Other responsibilities on the council's agenda include selecting a new head of government and a cabinet, welcoming a multinational security force to regain control of the capital, and finally scheduling much-needed elections.
However, Haiti's gangs argue that they should be involved in these negotiations. Vitel'homme Innocent, a gang leader, told CNN that if the gangs don't get a voice, they might resort to alternative measures.
The gangs are against the council, claiming it's just more of the same, and it's finally time for the old political elites to step down – an opinion shared by many in Haiti.
Since the beginning of this year, attacks by a coalition of gangs in the capital Port-au-Prince have caused the country's international airport and seaport to cease operations, leading to a break in food and aid supply chains and subsequent evacuation flights for foreign nationals.
With the city cut off from the outside world, hospitals have been targeted by vandals, and warehouses and containers containing food and necessary supplies have been plundered as the social fabric weakens.
The United Nations reports that almost 5 million Haitians are suffering from acute food insecurity, meaning their inability to access adequate food poses an immediate threat to their lives or livelihoods.
This story is still developing and will be updated.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
