Haitian President to Elect New Prime Minister

Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise will elect a new Prime Minister from three candidates proposed by leaders of the parliament.

The three candidates are Marjorie Alexandre Brunache, Jean Michel Lapin who is already serving as the interim prime minister, and the mayor Gabriel Fortune.

Moise announced, Saturday, on his Twitter account about his meeting with the leaders of the parliament and stressed that the election will be announced soon. The assembly must ratify the appointment of the new head of government.

The President of the Chamber of Deputies, Gary Bodeau announced on Twitter that after the meeting at the National Palace, along with his Senate counterpart, Carl Murat Cantave and President Jovenel Moise, the above-mentioned names were defined.

Lapin was appointed interim prime minister after the removal of Prime Minister Jean Henry Ceant following a motion by the Chamber of Deputies.

On March 18th, 93 out of 103 lawmakers voted in favor of removing Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant.

Haiti has been going through a serious political and social crisis since Feb. 2019 with vast protests engulfing cities across the country. The majority of protesters are demonstrating against the lack of improvement in basic living conditions, for which the President has been blamed. Protestors are also denouncing a decrease in purchasing power and corruption.

Ceant, a lawyer by profession, had replaced Jack Guy Lafontant as Prime Minister six months ago after a series of street demonstrations on the increase in fuel prices.

Among the three nominees, the least recognized in the political scene is Marjorie Alexandre Brunache, whose career has developed between the practice of law and diplomacy, and serves as Haiti’s consul in Boston. She is the daughter of former President Boniface Alexandre.

Fortune is currently the President of the City Council in the city of Les Cayes, and closest to the current President. Lapin was working at the Ministry of Culture, where he began his career 30 years ago as a messenger.

The President of the Chamber of Deputies, Gary Bodeau, said that the lawmakers agreed with the President that the next Prime Minister will be out of the three candidates and it will be up to the assembly to ratify the new leader.

The elected candidate must be ratified by the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies and in case of rejection, the procedure will begin again.