Transitional Presidential Council

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Transitional Presidential Council
Conseil Présidential de Transition
Presidential standard of Haiti
TypeCollegial head of state
StatusConstituted, not yet established (13 April 2024)
SeatNational Palace[1]
AppointerAriel Henry
Term lengthUntil 7 February 2026
(maximum term)
Constituting instrumentDecree of Special Issue No. 14, Volume 179 ("Décret Portant Création du Conseil Présidentiel de Transition")
PrecursorPresident of Haiti

The Transitional Presidential Council (TPC) (French: Conseil Présidential de Transition) is a collegial head of state constituted on 12 April 2024 to exercise the powers and duties of President of Haiti until new elections for that office can be held and a winner inaugurated, or until 7 February 2026, whichever occurs first.

Under the terms of the enabling decree, the council is to have nine members, two of whom will be non-voting. As of 13 April 2024, it had yet to be established through appointment of its members and is not operative.

Background

The gradual disintegration of Haitian state institutions during the Haitian crisis led to calls for acting president Ariel Henry to step aside and surrender the head of state functions.[2] In 2024, the Caribbean Community advanced a plan by which Henry would retain the office of prime minister of Haiti while transferring presidential authority to a collegial executive.[2] In March of that year, Henry signaled his agreement to the proposal.[2]

On 7 April, a plan establishing a "Transitional Presidential Council" was submitted to Henry for approval by a group of Haitian political and civil society leaders.[2] The Transitional Presidential Council was formally constituted by the sitting government[3] by decree signed on 10 April and made effective by publication in the government gazette Le Moniteur on 12 April 2024.[4] The body will be officially established upon the appointment of its members which, as of 13 April 2024, had not yet occurred.[3]

Reactions and reception

Domestic reaction

The drafters of the agreement rejected the governmental decree on 13 April and called upon the members of the resigning government to publish the original agreement without modification.[5] Reactions within Haiti to the announcement of the TPC were mixed, with some Haitians questioning its constitutional legitimacy.[6]

Following the announcement of the TPC, Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier (pictured) threatened to attack any person who accepted appointment to it.

Shortly after the council's announcement, Jacky Lumarque, rector of Université Quisqueya, described the council as not being a "Haitian-led" solution, calling it a "snake of seven heads".[7] He called for a judge of the Court of Cassation to be empowered as unitary acting president, instead.[7]

Jean Saint-Vil, a Haitian activist resident in Canada, decried the proposed council as a body imposed on Haiti by foreign powers and said "Haiti is a nation held hostage".[8] Saint-Vil specifically expressed opposition to a requirement added in the decree that council members must accept a multinational security force in Haiti as a condition of appointment.[8]

Camille LeBlanc, former Haitian minister of justice, said he welcomed the creation of the council but doubted the ability of such a body to resolve Haiti's political impasse.[9]

Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier, a former police officer who allegedly heads an extralegal armed group in Haiti, said his forces would attack any person who accepted appointment to the council. Chérizier also invoked a traditional Haitian battle cry to describe the fate that would befall councilors: "Cut off their heads and burn down their houses".[6] Barbecue earlier objected to the lack of input his federation, the Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies, had had in governance transition talks. He also entered into an alliance with another federation of gangs, G-Pèp, to organize plans for armed resistance to any entry of foreign peacekeepers into the country as part of a future transitional arrangement.[10][11]

Foreign reaction

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and President of Kenya William Ruto each welcomed the creation of the TPC on behalf of their respective nations and organizations.

In an official statement, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said he "welcomed" the creation of the Transitional Presidential Council and urged "all Haitian stakeholders to continue making progress in putting in place transitional governance arrangements".[4]

The Caribbean Community issued a collective statement following the decree of 12 April. According to it, the Caribbean Community welcomed the creation of the TPC. The statement went on to applaud the TPC as a "Haitian owned formula for governance that will take the troubled country through elections to the restoration of the lapsed state institutions and constitutional government".[12]

Matthew Miller, spokesman for the United States Department of State, issued a written statement that said the United States commended "Haitian leaders for making tough compromises to move toward democratic governance via free and fair elections" and that the U.S. "welcomes" the creation of the TPC.[13]

In an April 13 post to social media platform X, President of Kenya William Ruto welcomed the creation of the TPC, going on to state that "Kenya expresses confidence that the new political leadership will lay a strong foundation for resolution of the crisis in Haiti, restoration of security, afford the Haitian people a political transition and usher in sustainable peace and development".[14]

In a press release issued April 14, Louise Mushikiwabo of l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie "commended" the creation of the Transitional Presidential Council.[15]

On April 15, the European Union, through the European External Action Service, acknowledged the "official decree setting out the procedure for the establishment of a Transitional Presidential Council" of 12 April and stated it was "crucial that the TPC is formally appointed without further delay by the outgoing government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry".[16]

Authority and mandate

Under the terms of the decree of 12 April, the Transitional Presidential Council will exercise functions of the office of president until such time as a new president is elected and inaugurated.[17] Its mandate to act concludes on 7 February 2026.[17] The TPC's authority extends to the appointment of a prime minister and government and Henry has agreed to resign from the office of prime minister at such time as the TPC designates someone else to hold the office.[17]

Composition

Under the terms of the decree of 12 April 2024, the Transitional Presidential Council consists of seven voting and two non-voting members.[17] The voting members include one representative from each of four political party coalitions (Accord du 30 aout 2021, Accord du 21 décembre 2022, Collectif des Partis politiques, and Compromis Historique/RED/EDE), two political parties (Fanmi Lavalas and Platfòm Pitit Desalin), and "the private sector". The non-voting members include one representative from civil society and one representative from "the interfaith community".[18] According to Article 12 of the decree, the outgoing Prime Minister "takes the necessary dispositions for the establishment of the Transitional Presidential Council".[3]

Qualifications

Members of the TPC must meet the requirements for holding the office of president as established under Article 135 of the Constitution of Haiti and are disqualified from standing for the presidency in the next election.[18] Differences introduced in the decree include that individuals are ineligible for appointment to the Council if they have been sanctioned by the United Nations, if they are under criminal indictment or have been found guilty of a crime in any jurisdiction, or if they oppose the introduction of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti. Similarly, the government added in article 5 that all members must pursue the accelerated deployment of the international security force.[3][19]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Le conseil présidentiel de transition en Haïti officiellement créé". Radio France Internationale (in French). 13 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024. Le Conseil présidentiel de transition siègera au palais présidentiel, selon le décret.
  2. ^ a b c d "Haiti's transitional government must take office amid gang warfare". The Economist. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "Le décret MODIFIÉ de création du Conseil présidentiel publié". Haiti Libre (in French). 13 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Guterres welcomes creation of transitional council in Haiti to choose new leaders". un.org. United Nations. 13 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  5. ^ Robenson, Geffrard (14 April 2024). "Haiti: Stakeholders Reject Government Henry's Decree Establishing the Presidential Transition Council". Le Nouvelliste.
  6. ^ a b Adams, David (12 April 2024). "Haiti in Crisis Sets Up Ruling Council, Clearing Way for an Acting Leader". New York Times. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  7. ^ a b Johnston, Jake (12 April 2024). "Presidential Council Awaits Installation After Weeks of Delays". cepr.net. Center for Economic and Policy Research. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Haiti government announces establishment of nine-member transitional council". Jurist. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Haiti decrees long-awaited transition council, but questions remain". Reuters. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  10. ^ Sanon, Evens (13 March 2024). "Haiti is preparing itself for new leadership. Gangs want a seat at the table". Associated Press. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  11. ^ "'Overthrow the system': Haiti gang leader Cherizier seeks revolution". Al Jazeera. 16 March 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  12. ^ "CARICOM STATEMENT ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HAITIAN PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL". caricom.org. Caribbean Community. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  13. ^ "The United States Welcomes Establishment of Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council". state.gov. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  14. ^ William Ruto [@WilliamsRuto] (13 April 2024). "I welcome the formal Proclamation by Decree establishing the Presidential Transition Council (PTC) of the Republic of Haiti" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 13 April 2024 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Celestin, Jean Junior (15 April 2024). "Francophonie Secretary General Applauds Formation of Presidential Transition Council". Le Nouvelliste. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Statement by the Spokesperson on the establishment of a Transitional Presidential Council". eeas.europa.eu. European External Action Service. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d Senate, Jean Daniel (12 April 2024). "Haïti Le conseil présidentiel de transition est officiellement créé". La Presse (in French). Agence France Press. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Décret portant création du Conseil présidentiel de transition" (PDF) (in French). Le Moniteur. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  19. ^ Robenson, Geffrard (12 April 2024). "No one has become a member of the Presidential Transition Council yet, here are the conditions to meet to become one". Le Nouvelliste.

External links

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