The members of the Transitional Presidential Council were sworn into office on Thursday in a sober two-part ceremony.
To everyone’s surprise, they were sworn in early in the morning at the National Palace, before heading to the Villa d’Accueil for installation speeches and greetings.
“This is an important day in the life of our beloved Republic. It concretely opens up the prospect of a solution to address the multidimensional crisis the country is going through, with a view to reaching a definitive denouement,” declared interim Prime Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert.
For Michel Boisvert, this is a relief for the country, which can now continue to hope and believe in the possible change that all sectors of the population are calling for. He underlined the heavy responsibility incumbent on the Council, welcoming the support of the international community.
The representative of the interfaith group REN, Régine Abraham, the only woman on the Presidential Council, who addressed the nation on behalf of her peers, deplored “the bitter failure of the outgoing government, which has totally abandoned its responsibility to protect its population from criminal violence, to offer public services to its people and to steer the economy”.
Régine Abraham promises the restoration of security, justice and the rule of law, as well as institutional and economic recovery.
Pastor Frinel Joseph, who represents civil society as an observer on the Presidential Council, says he is aware of the heavy task awaiting the transitional presidential body. He promises that he and his peers will quickly get down to work.
The ceremony at the Villa d’Accueil was attended by the majority of representatives of the diplomatic corps, senior government officials, political leaders and civil society.
The United States welcomes this crucial step towards the deployment of the multinational mission to help restore security and organize elections in Haiti.
The United States is committed to supporting the CP with CARICOM and other partners, said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
The new US ambassador to Haiti, Dennis B. Hankins, who attended the ceremony, congratulated the CPT members for working together to achieve this important milestone for the Haitian people. Ambassador Hankins looks forward to presenting his credentials to the Presidential Council in the near future.
The French ambassador to Haiti, Fabrice Mauriès, also congratulated the members of the Transitional Presidential Council and pledged that France would work with the PC to ensure its full success. The diplomat informed that the diplomatic corps had a working meeting with the presidential advisors shortly after their installation.
Smith Agustín, Louis Gérald Gilles, Fritz Alphonse Jean, Edgard Leblanc Fils, Laurent Saint-Cyr, Emmanuel Vertilaire and Leslie Voltaire are the 7 voting members of the Presidential Council. Régine Abraham and Frinel Joseph are the two observers.
The members of the Presidential Council, who must quickly choose a president or coordinator from among themselves, must quickly get to work on appointing Ariel Henry’s replacement and providing the country with a new government.
Text by Darbouze Figaro and Emmanuel Paul