Haiti’s transitional government names new council president, proposes interim prime minister

Council responsible for paving the way for elections names Edgard Leblanc Fils as its president and proposes former sports minister Fritz Bélizaire as interim prime minister.

A transitional council responsible for choosing Haiti’s next leadership has named one of its members as council president and proposed a new interim prime minister amid efforts to control the gang violence in the Caribbean nation. The council, which is responsible for paving the way for elections and addressing the country’s deteriorating security situation, on Tuesday named Edgard Leblanc Fils as its president and proposed former sports minister Fritz Bélizaire as new interim prime minister. The nine-member council, which was sworn in at the National Palace last week, consists of seven voting members and was established with the help of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). It is tasked with the responsibility of naming a new prime minister and cabinet. The committee will exercise certain presidential powers until a new president-elect is inaugurated, which must take place no later than February 7, 2026. The country’s former prime minister, Ariel Henry, resigned last week as the council was sworn in and the former finance minister, Michael Patrick Boisvert, has been filling the role on a temporary basis. Still to come are the tasks of appointing a new head of government and a cabinet; coordinating the arrival of a multinational security force to reclaim the capital; and eventually holding long-overdue elections.