MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Haiti's Council sacks interim PM and appoints a successor

Conille stayed in office for about six months

Haiti's Presidential Transitional Council decided Sunday to appoint Alix Didier Fils-Aimé as interim Prime Minister in lieu of Garry Conille, it was reported in gang violence-torn Port-au-Prince. The transitional council was an emergency body created on April 25, 2024, in an effort to restore democratic order in a country deep in havoc, particularly since the July 7, 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. It is made up of members from various political parties, civil society, and observers.

Alix Didier Fils-Aimé is the former Chairman of the Haitian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He studied at Boston University. He had previously been endorsed by Haiti's private sector. Conille, a former United Nations official, served as prime minister for only six months.

At the time of Conille's appointment, the businessman Fils-Aime's candidacy had been under consideration, according to Haitian media. In 2015 he unsuccessfully ran for the Senate. Haiti has not held democratic elections in years in large part due to the soaring levels of gang violence.

The transitional council has been plagued with internal rifts mainly with Conille despite the efforts of goodwill mediators such as the Organization of American States (OAS). Last month, three Council members faced corruption accusations, which dealt yet another blow to the nine-member body's waning public trust.

Those same members accused of bribery, Smith Augustin, Emmanuel Vertilaire, and Louis Gerald Gilles, were among those to sign the decree dismissing Conille. Only Edgard Leblanc Fils failed to endorse the document signed “We, Smith AUGUSTIN, Louis Gérald GILLES, Fritz Alphonse JEAN, Edgard LEBLANC Fils, Laurent SAINT-CYR, Emmanuel VERTILAIRE, Leslie VOLTAIRE, voting members, Régine ABRAHAM.”