The Transitional Presidential Council (TPC; ; ) is a temporary body constituted by the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

on 12 April 2024 and sworn in at the

National Palace Buildings called National Palace include: *National Palace (Dominican Republic), in Santo Domingo * National Palace (El Salvador), in San Salvador * National Palace (Ethiopia), in Addis Ababa; also known as the Jubilee Palace * National Palace (Guat ...

on 25 April to exercise the powers and duties of the

president of Haiti The president of Haiti (, ), officially called the president of the Republic of Haiti (, , ), is the head of state of Haiti. Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the government, which is headed by the prime minister of ...

either until an elected president is inaugurated or until 7 February 2026, whichever comes first.

Background

The gradual disintegration of Haitian state institutions during the Haitian crisis led to calls for acting prime minister

Ariel Henry Ariel Henry (; born 6 November 1949) is a Haitian neurosurgeon and politician who served as the acting Prime Minister of Haiti, prime minister of Haiti from Assassination of Jovenel Moïse, the assassination of Jovenel Moïse in 2021 until his r ...

to step aside and surrender the ''de facto'' head of state functions. The demands were led by Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier, a former police officer who heads a coalition of gangs in Haiti, and Guy Philippe, a former senator and convict. Henry was seen as illegitimate since he took over after the 7 July 2021

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of president

Jovenel Moïse Jovenel Moïse (; ; 26 June 1968 – 7 July 2021) was a Haitian politician and Businessperson, businessman who served as President of Haiti from 2017 until Assassination of Jovenel Moïse, his assassination in 2021. Moïse assumed the preside ...

, and had repeatedly postponed the

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

which he had promised to organize. On 11 March 2024, Henry announced that he would resign and that a transitional council (whose membership would be determined in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

at an emergency CARICOM meeting) would select an interim prime minister. On 3 April 2024, the transitional presidential council set up at the CARICOM meeting on 11 March had finalized its provisional list of representatives, who were appointed by the Council of Ministers on 16 April. After weeks of negotiation, a deal was sent to CARICOM on 7 April for a temporary government whose mandate will end on 7 February 2026. One of the council's tasks is to elect a prime minister, who cannot already be a member of the transitional council or the provisional government. The transitional council was officially created by a governmental decree published in '' Le Moniteur'' on 12 April. The names of the nine members of the TPC were published on 16 April, and they were sworn in at the

on 25 April amidst the sounds of automatic gunfire. Prior to the announcement of Ariel Henry's resignation and the inauguration of the TPC, Michel Patrick Boisvert was named interim prime minister by the

Actions

On 30 April 2024, Edgard Leblanc Fils was named president of the TPC, and Fritz Bélizaire was designated as the prime minister by a majority of four votes, although the latter choice was contested within the council. As a result, the council members agreed to have the chairmanship being rotated every five months among Fils, Louis Gérald Gilles, Leslie Voltaire and Smith Augustin. In addition, it also set up a requirement of five votes instead of four to form a majority. The council later started accepting submissions for the position of prime minister from 13–17 May. In late May 2024, the council extended the tenure of interim prime minister Michel Patrick Boisvert for another month, and on 27 May six of the seven members with voting rights chose former UN special envoy

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

's chief of staff and former prime minister

Garry Conille Garry Conille (; born 26 February 1966) is a Haitian academic, development worker, politician, and author. He served as the acting prime minister of Haiti from 3 June to 11 November 2024. He previously served as the Prime Minister from 2011 to 20 ...

as his successor, discarding the earlier vote that selected Bélizaire. Conille and members of the council met several times after his swearing-in, agreeing on names of 13 ministers to be a part of his cabinet, with the ministers being named on 11 June 2024. The council and the new government later agreed to replace the director-general of the

Haitian National Police The Haitian National Police (PNH; ) is the law enforcement and ''de facto'' police force of Haiti. It was created in 1995 to bring public security under civilian control as mandated in Haiti's constitution. As of 2023, the force has 9,000 acti ...

. On 7 October 2024, Voltaire was named to replace Fils as president of the council.

Composition

Under the terms of the decree of 12 April 2024, the Transitional Presidential Council consists of seven voting and two non-voting members. The voting members include one representative from each of four political party coalitions (Accord du 30 août 2021, Accord du 21 décembre 2022, Collectif des Partis politiques, and Compromis Historique/RED/EDE), two political parties (

Fanmi Lavalas Fanmi Lavalas (; ''lavalas'' is Haitian Creole for 'avalanche' or 'flood' ) is a social-democratic political party in Haiti. Its leader is former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It has been a powerful force in Haitian politics since 199 ...

and Platfòm Pitit Desalin), and "the private sector". The non-voting members include one representative from

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.

Qualifications

Members of the TPC must meet the requirements for holding the office of president as established under Article 135 of the Constitution of Haiti and are disqualified from standing for the presidency in the next election. Differences introduced in the decree include that individuals are ineligible for appointment to the council if they have been sanctioned by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, if they are under criminal indictment or have been found guilty of a crime in any jurisdiction, or if they oppose the introduction of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti. Similarly, the government added in article 5 that all members must pursue the accelerated deployment of the international security force.

Presidents

Chairman

Authority and mandate

Under the terms of the decree of 12 April, the Transitional Presidential Council will exercise functions of the office of president until such time as a new president is elected and inaugurated. Its mandate to act concludes on 7 February 2026. The TPC's authority extends to the appointment of a prime minister and government and Henry has agreed to resign from the office of prime minister at such time as the TPC designates someone else to hold the office.

Allegations of corruption

On 2 October 2024, an official anti-corruption unit of the government recommended judicial review of three members of the Transitional Council—Smith Augustin, Gérald Gilles, and Emmanuel Vertilaire—for abuse of function, bribery, and passive corruption.

Reaction

Domestic

The drafters of the agreement rejected the governmental decree on 13 April and called upon the members of the resigning government to publish the original agreement without modification. Reactions within Haiti to the announcement of the TPC were mixed, with some Haitians questioning its constitutional legitimacy. Shortly after the council's announcement, Jacky Lumarque, rector of Université Quisqueya, described the council as not being a "Haitian-led" solution, calling it a "snake of seven heads". He called for a judge of the Court of Cassation to be empowered as unitary acting president, instead. Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier said his forces would attack any person who accepted appointment to the council. Chérizier also invoked a traditional Haitian battle cry to describe the fate that would befall councilors: "Cut off their heads and burn down their houses". Chérizier earlier objected to the lack of input his federation, the Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies, had had in governance transition talks. He also entered into an alliance with another federation of gangs, G-Pèp, to organize plans for armed resistance to any entry of foreign peacekeepers into the country as part of a future transitional arrangement. Camille LeBlanc, former Haitian minister of justice, said he welcomed the creation of the council but doubted the ability of such a body to resolve Haiti's political impasse.

Foreign

In an official statement,

United Nations secretary-general The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

said he "welcomed" the creation of the Transitional Presidential Council and urged "all Haitian stakeholders to continue making progress in putting in place transitional governance arrangements". The Caribbean Community welcomed the creation of the TPC saying it was a "Haitian owned formula for governance that will take the troubled country through elections to the restoration of the lapsed state institutions and constitutional government". The

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

stated the U.S. "welcomes" the creation of the TPC and "commends Haitian leaders for making tough compromises to move toward democratic governance via free and fair elections".

President of Kenya The president of the Republic of Kenya () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Kenya. The president is also the head of the executive branch of the Government of Kenya and is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya De ...

William Ruto William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto (born 21 January 1967) is a Kenyan politician who is the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the first elected Deputy President of Kenya, ...

welcomed the creation of the TPC, writing on social media that "Kenya expresses confidence that the new political leadership will lay a strong foundation for resolution of the crisis in Haiti, restoration of security, afford the Haitian people a political transition and usher in sustainable peace and development". In a press release issued 14 April, Louise Mushikiwabo of ''l'

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie The (OIF; sometimes shortened to ''La Francophonie'', , sometimes also called International Organisation of in English) is an international organization representing where there is a notable affiliation with French language and culture. ...

'' "commended" the creation of the Transitional Presidential Council. On 15 April, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, through the

European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service in charge of executing all Foreign relations of the European Union, international relations of the European Union. The EEAS is led by the Vice-President of the European Co ...

, said it was "crucial that the TPC is formally appointed without further delay by the outgoing government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry".

References

Bibliography

* * {{Heads of state of Haiti 2024 establishments in North America 2024 in Haiti Government of Haiti Haitian crisis (2018–present) Collective heads of state