Haiti transitional council elects president: summary

Haiti transition council names former senate leader Edgard Leblanc as president, in Port-au-Prince

Edgard Leblanc, former senate president and recently named head of Haiti's transition council, addresses the audience, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti April 30, 2024. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol

Source: REUTERS

What we know

Haiti's transition council on April 30 named Edgard Leblanc, the former senate president, to head the body.
Leblanc's naming follows weeks of political deadlock and in-fighting following the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry amid an armed conflict in the capital.
The transitional body is formed by seven voting members and two non-voting observers. Leblanc won the nomination with four votes, including his own, in favour.
The council also tapped Fritz Belizaire, former youth and sports minister, as prime minister.
The Montana Accord, a civil society group represented by a council member with voting powers, described the election as a "complot" hatched by four council members against the Haitian people "in the middle of the night."

What they said

"The political and economic mafia forces have decided to take control of the presidential council and the government so that they can continue to control the state," the Montana Accord was quoted in a statement by the VOA News.

Believe Domor