Published: 10:24, April 25, 2024
PM office: Haiti transition council to be installed on Thursday
By Reuters
Police patrol near the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 24, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

PORT-AU-PRINCE — A ceremony to install a stalled presidential transition council in Haiti will take place Thursday morning on the outskirts of the capital Port-au-Prince, the office of outgoing Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement noted that the ceremony will be hosted at the prime minister's official office, known as Villa d'Accueil, not the downtown National Palace, which has come under repeated fire from armed gangs in recent days.

The installation of the nine-member presidential transition council that will take over from Henry has been delayed for weeks amid intense behind-the-scenes jockeying for control among various political factions

Earlier on Wednesday, powerful gang leader Jimmy "Barbeque" Cherizier insisted that talks over Haiti's political future must include the gangs.

READ MORE: Haiti's capital under gang attacks ahead of government transition

The installation of the nine-member presidential transition council that will take over from Henry has been delayed for weeks amid intense behind-the-scenes jockeying for control among various political factions.

The establishment of the council is seen as a key first step toward ending the chaos that has engulfed the Caribbean nation, largely blamed on rival gangs fighting over turf, especially in the capital, as well as mostly absent state institutions.

READ MORE: Hundreds of groups urge US not to deport Haitians fleeing home

The council is expected to name an interim prime minister and help set up a government that will eventually organize national elections.