An agreement has been reached for a transitional government in Haiti one day before President Michel Martelly demits office without an elected successor.
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Current negotiations focus on an interim president taking the reins of power, with current Prime Minister Evans Paul staying until he is either ratified by parliament or a new consensus prime minister is chosen to lead a caretaker government until new elections are held. Elections will take place on April 24 and power will be transferred to the new president on May 14.
A senior member of Haiti’s ruling party who was not authorized to talk to the media told the AP that lawmakers expect to meet on Sunday to elect the interim president.
While Martelly’s final presidential term expires on Sunday, politicians in the highly impoverished nation have failed to come up with an interim government to replace him. But there was no break in opposition protests in the crowded capital Saturday and recent violence suggests discord is likely to continue.
The National Police stand around the body of Neroce R. Ciceron, a former captain in Haiti’s disbanded army, after he was beaten and stoned to death by anti-government protesters in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, Feb. 5, 2016.
“I don’t think that anybody could say that it was a cooked-up agreement because it was done by people who didn’t have the right or the authority to do it”, Sanders said.
The agreement is to be signed by the presidents of both chambers of parliament.
A runoff election to determine a successor for Martelly was indefinitely postponed in December after irregularities in the first round of voting sparked accusations of an “electoral coup”.
But Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council has repeatedly rejected demands by the opposition, including candidate Jude Celestin, for an independent review of the election results. News storiesdisplayed here appear in our category for worldwide and are licensed via a specific agreement between LongIsland.comand The Associated Press, the world’s oldest and largest news organization. U.S. Ambassador Peter Mulrean welcomed the accord, saying it offered a “clear path ahead” and Haiti’s various political parties have committed to it.
Despite the delicate nature of the discussions, Sanders said he was hopeful a peaceful settlement would be reached if not by the end of Thursday, then by Friday when he is scheduled to leave Port-au-Prince.
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Celestin had previously threatened to boycott the vote.
