A new government in Haiti could be formed by Tuesday, less than 48 hours after a “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, CMC has reported.
According to CMC, Henry had been named as the country’s seventh prime minister since 2017, by President Jovenel Moise, two days before he was assassinated by gunmen at his private residence in Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021.
However, according to CMC, Henry was never sworn into office.
Joseph had been running the country since Joseph’s death and had announced that presidential and legislative elections would be held on September 26 with the second round scheduled for November.
CMC reported that 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), “appear 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 “is 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 is quoted as saying by CMC.
