By Harold Isaak
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – Haiti’s transition council on Tuesday asked former Prime Minister Garry Conille, who briefly led the country more than a decade ago, to return to the role in which the Caribbean country is working to restore stability and taking back control over violent conflicts. gangs.
The transition council voted 6-1 to appoint Conille as interim prime minister, a member told Reuters.
Conille’s extensive development resume, much of it working with the United Nations, is seen as key to boosting international support as Haiti prepares to launch a U.N.-backed security mission led by Kenya. The Kenyan effort has faced hurdles.
The transition council, which has some presidential powers, and its head, Edgard Leblanc, who is de facto president, are now tasked with holding elections by February 7, 2026, as set out in Haiti’s constitution.
Conille’s naming underlines progress in Haiti’s political process and follows Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation in March after he left Haiti to seek support for the Kenyan security mission and was denied entry into the country.
President Jovenel Moise, who mentioned Henry, was assassinated in 2021. Haiti has not had a president since.
Conille, meanwhile, was prime minister for just seven months, resigning in February 2012 after losing the support of his cabinet and clashing with then-president Michel Martelly.
Conille and Martelly fell out over reconstruction contracts after a deadly 2010 earthquake and a parliamentary investigation into politicians with dual citizenship, which is illegal in Haiti.
Conille recently held the position of regional director at UNICEF, the UN children’s agency.
He will now be tasked with combating rampant insecurity as gangs have expanded their reach. According to UN estimates, more than 360,000 people have already been displaced within Haiti, mainly from the capital Port-au-Prince, as a result of the gang conflict.
(Reporting by Harold Isaac; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Valentine Hilaire and Anthony Esposito)
