Crisis in Haiti: Candidates are already there to form the team that will choose the Caribbean nation’s next leader

Caribbean leaders said on Tuesday that all but one political group and party had submitted Candidates for the Transitional Presidential Council For this, the task of selecting an interim prime minister has been assigned HaitiWhich gets caught up in gang violence.

The original nine-member council was reduced Eight After the match Petit Dessalines Led by a former senator and presidential candidate Jean-Charles Moise One seat dropped last week. There is a connection with Moise Guy Philip, A former police officer and rebel leader who served time in the United States after pleading guilty to money laundering.

The December 21 group, associated with Prime Minister Ariel Henry, was one of the last holdouts, submitting the name on Monday to a regional trade group known as CARICOM. His nomination was delayed due to infighting as group leaders argued over potential candidates.

Henry, who is excluded from Haiti because Gang violence It has been forced to close its main international airport, vowing to resign once a transitional council is formed. He was on an official visit to Kenya to push for the deployment of a UN-backed police force from the East African country to fight gangs in Haiti when gunmen attacked the capital on February 29. Prince Port. The deployment of Kenyan forces has been delayed.

The gangs burned police stations, opened fire at the main international airport and raided Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing most of them. 4,000 prisoners. On Monday, they attacked and looted houses in two upscale communities that had previously been peaceful, killing at least a dozen people during the attacks.

Dozens of people died in and around the attack 17,000 people became homeless, According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, most are fleeing the restive region of southern Haiti.

“We are very concerned about the violence,” said the president of Guyana, Irfan Aliwho is also the president of CARICOM.

He told reporters Monday night that time is of the essence given the situation, adding that officials are optimistic for progress.

“We’ve had continuous meetings almost every night, because Haitians have to establish a presidential council,” he said. “Progress has been made.”

Apart from selecting the interim prime minister, the council will be responsible Appoint the Cabinet, Provisional Electoral Council and National Security Council. All members of the Transitional Council should also be supportive Deployment of foreign armed forces.

Those who have secured seats in the council are EDE/RED, the party led by former Prime Minister Claude Joseph; The Montana Compact, a group of civil society leaders, political parties and others; Fanmi Lavalas, the party of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide; Colectivo 30 de Enero, which represents parties such as the former president Michele Martelli; and the private sector.

Of the two remaining non-voting positions, one will go to a representative of Haiti’s civil society and the other to its religious sector.

CARICOM officials have not released the full list of names nominated for the council.

(with information from AP)