In an address to the nation, Haiti’s interim prime minister showed no signs of stepping down from power Monday, hitting back at those seeking to replace him and inviting other Haitians of “good will” to join him as he seeks to return Haiti to democratic rule by organizing elections and reforming the constitution this year.
“No one has the authority or the right to meet at a hotel or abroad to decide in a small committee who is to be president or prime minister,” Ariel Henry said in reference to a coalition of grassroots and civil society organizations that have assembled under a power-sharing proposal known as the Montana/PEN Accord. “It’s all a distraction.”
The group recently announced the selection of a former lawmaker and presidential candidate, Steven Benoit, and economist Fritz Alphonse Jean to help lead a two-year transition in Haiti. Benoit would be prime minister and Jean would join four others on a presidential college that would be overseen by a larger group of individuals.
Henry, who has been invited to join the accord by either sitting on the college or sending a representative, has rebuffed the offer. The next occupant of Haiti’s presidential palace, he has said, will come out of an election. Still, during a national address on Monday, he extended his hand.
“It’s very good that Haitians have decided to come together. That’s why I’ve met Montana’s compatriots many times, and I’m still reaching out to them,” he said. “The situation in the country is too serious for us to waste time in playing musical chairs.”
On Monday, Henry, a neurosurgeon, stayed the course, promising to soon make public new dates for elections and warning anyone seeking to destabilize the country or take power through violence that they will face arrest.
“I say to all those who are tempted to use gangs, terrorists and armed bandits to seize power. ... We are beginning to identify them, the international community is identifying them,” he said, adding that once arrested, no one should complain that it’s political persecution or that they are political prisoners.
He also paid homage to slain President Jovenel Moise, whose term would have ended Monday, according to the calculation of the international community.
The day marked seven months since Moise was killed in his bedroom in the hills above Port-au-Prince, and 36 years since Haiti ushered in democracy after the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship. As the country entered its fourth transition with no newly elected president to swear in, schools and businesses across the country closed their doors. Police were on high alert.
But other than attempts to block some roads in the Artibonite region, just north of the capital, the streets were eerily calm. Haitians remained at home, listening to news reports, which included headlines about the latest kidnappings.
Speaking to the nation in his own address, Senate President Joseph Lambert was critical of Henry, whose term he considers over. He said Henry was the main obstacle to a national dialogue among Haiti’s competing political factions and he accused the government of being unable to address the population’s deteriorating living conditions.
Last week Lambert asked Henry to return the presidential sash and refrain from engaging the government in any new measures, something Henry ignored during his address. The Senate consists of just 10 members, not enough for a quorum or to pass laws.
Henry was appointed prime minister about a month before Moise’s July 7 assassination. His installation came afterward. Since then, critics have been calling for him to step down to allow a new group of leaders to take charge of the volatile country, alleging he is holding the office in violation of the constitution. Those calls grew louder as Feb. 7 approached.
Critics of Henry have said that if Moise’s term ended Monday, so should the term of the prime minister he selected.
During his speech, Henry presented a report of his government’s efforts and announced that Haiti will soon resume discussions with the International Monetary Fund after years of stalled talks. Haiti also will host a donors’ conference on Feb. 16 to raise funds to rebuild the southern region, which was devastated by a deadly 7.2-magnitude earthquake on Aug. 14, 2021, he said.
“They will look at how they can help us in the recovery and reconstruction,” he said.
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