Haiti's presidential council is dysfunctional, says member as time in office runs out
Ideally, Haitians should be preparing to head to the polls to elect a new president —their first since the brazen assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in his bedroom nearly four years ago.
But eight months before the volatile Caribbean nation is supposed to see the February 7, 2026 swearing-in of a new head of state and a new Parliament, elections not only remain elusive amid ongoing attacks by armed gangs, but the political transition process itself in disarray.
In a letter shared with the Miami Herald, one of the two members of the nine-member Presidential Transitional Council tasked with governing the country alongside the prime minister, is sounding the alarm over what he describes as the panel's dysfunction more than a year after it came into power with the help of the United States and the 15-member Caribbean Community known as CARICOM.
'The Presidential Transitional Council has been blocked due to internal struggles among the voting members, publicly accusing each other, while approximately eight months remain in the [council's] mandate,' presidential adviser Frinel Joseph said in the letter. 'The council must therefore rise above internal divisions and focus on fulfilling its mission as defined by the April 3 agreement, which will expire on February 7, 2026.'
Joseph was named to the body by the civil society sector and sits as one of its two non-voting members. He's tasked, along with its only female representative, with observing the decisions of the council, which was put in place in March of 2024 in a deal brokered with the help of the U.S. and CARICOM after they forced then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign as the country's most powerful armed gangs joined forces and sought to topple what was left of the government.
The panel was hailed as representing a broad consensus among Haiti's political sectors and civil society. But soon after their installation, they became embroiled in scandal as the very groups that named representatives began to distance themselves from their own appointees and the council.
Joseph notes in his letter that he has 'sounded the alarm on several points' that would have allowed the council to move faster, but all his concerns had been cast aside, including those about a bank bribery scandal that continues to dog council members and has undermined the panel's credibility while deepening the political crisis.
Soon after assuming office, three of the council's voting members —Louis Gérald Gilles, Smith Augustin and Emmanuel Vertilaire —were accused of asking the now former chairman, Raoul Pierre-Louis, of the National Bank of Credit, BNC, for 100 million gourdes or the equivalent of $758,000 in order to keep his job. Haiti's anti-corruption unit investigated and later said there was probable cause for a criminal investigation.
The three members have all maintained their innocence and refused to step down. But in an act of compromise both Gilles and Augustin gave up their chance to serve as president as part of a rotating leadership agreement. That rotation has since become a source of consternation with each individual next in line, wondering if his predecessor will step aside.
Joseph notes that after the corruption allegations came to light, he suggested that a code of ethics be developed in order 'to promote better functioning of the Council.'
'Unfortunately, it was not adopted,' he said.
Joseph also notes allegations circulating on social networks and in local press reports about the exorbitant amount council members are being paid, along with their wives. According to a report by the National Human Rights Defense Network, each presidential adviser costs the poverty-stricken nation's taxpayers the equivalent of $76,438,924 each month, including salary, fuel allowances, food, phone cards and other expenses.
Joseph says the amount is 'inaccurate' though he doesn't say just how much he and the others are paid to lead the transition. He also said he asked the council to address the allegations publicly but they refused.
Joseph, who hasn't spoken out until now, said he had kept quiet so as to avoid fueling suspicions of discord within the council. But 'until now we continue to be dragged down because of it.'
On-going debate over council
The fate of Haiti's Presidential Transitional Council is a matter of ongoing debate both inside the country and outside.Many in the international community believe the council's time is running out and acknowledge the transition's failure in carrying out its fundamental missions: restoring security and welcoming the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission; staging a referendum on a new or revised Constitution; and holding elections to put a legitimate government in office by Feb. 7. 2026.
Yet, despite the broad consensus, there is still no agreement about the council's fate— even as that of the Kenya mission also remains unknown. Haitians continue to be displaced by heavily-armed gangs who are extending their reach beyond the capital, which is mostly under their control. More than 2,600 have been killed in gang-related violence already this year, the United Nations recently said, and the number of people displaced has reached a new record 1.3 million and nearly half of the country's estimated 12 million face hunger or starvation.
Meanwhile, the council hasn't met as a body in more than two months and for weeks, members have been taking swipes at one another as the rift between them lead to finger pointing and accusations. Among them: some members have bloated the foreign diplomacy by naming hundreds of individuals to posts at embassies and consulates.
In an interview with Le Nouvelliste, the country's oldest daily, council President Fritz Alphonse Jean denounced the appointments and blamed them on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose new minister was appointed after Jean and others ousted Prime Minister Garry Conille and most of his ministers in November.
Council member Augustin, in a subsequent interview with the newspaper, accused Jean and council ally and former head of the body Leslie Voltaire of recommending 14 ambassadors out of 26 heads of missions.
Joseph lists the replacement of Conille with Prime Minister Didier Fils-Aimé as among the group's accomplishments. But he also makes clear that he had 'expressed reservations' about the rotating presidency adopted by a May 12, 2024 resolution for two fundamental reasons.
First, he said, it was a violation of the April 3 agreement that the group was supposed to abide by but has consistently ignored. Secondly, Joseph said, he believed that by having four of the seven voting members rotate their turn at the helm as president, 'it would create problems in the transfer of responsibilities. In fact, this issue is now present and generates a kind of mistrust at every turn.'
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The panel was hailed as representing a broad consensus among Haiti's political sectors and civil society. But soon after their installation, they became embroiled in scandal as the very groups that named representatives began to distance themselves from their own appointees and the council. Joseph notes in his letter that he has 'sounded the alarm on several points' that would have allowed the council to move faster, but all his concerns had been cast aside, including those about a bank bribery scandal that continues to dog council members and has undermined the panel's credibility while deepening the political crisis. Soon after assuming office, three of the council's voting members —Louis Gérald Gilles, Smith Augustin and Emmanuel Vertilaire —were accused of asking the now former chairman, Raoul Pierre-Louis, of the National Bank of Credit, BNC, for 100 million gourdes or the equivalent of $758,000 in order to keep his job. Haiti's anti-corruption unit investigated and later said there was probable cause for a criminal investigation. The three members have all maintained their innocence and refused to step down. But in an act of compromise both Gilles and Augustin gave up their chance to serve as president as part of a rotating leadership agreement. That rotation has since become a source of consternation with each individual next in line, wondering if his predecessor will step aside. Joseph notes that after the corruption allegations came to light, he suggested that a code of ethics be developed in order 'to promote better functioning of the Council.' 'Unfortunately, it was not adopted,' he said. Joseph also notes allegations circulating on social networks and in local press reports about the exorbitant amount council members are being paid, along with their wives. According to a report by the National Human Rights Defense Network, each presidential adviser costs the poverty-stricken nation's taxpayers the equivalent of $76,438,924 each month, including salary, fuel allowances, food, phone cards and other expenses. Joseph says the amount is 'inaccurate' though he doesn't say just how much he and the others are paid to lead the transition. He also said he asked the council to address the allegations publicly but they refused. Joseph, who hasn't spoken out until now, said he had kept quiet so as to avoid fueling suspicions of discord within the council. But 'until now we continue to be dragged down because of it.' 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More than 2,600 have been killed in gang-related violence already this year, the United Nations recently said, and the number of people displaced has reached a new record 1.3 million and nearly half of the country's estimated 12 million face hunger or starvation. Meanwhile, the council hasn't met as a body in more than two months and for weeks, members have been taking swipes at one another as the rift between them lead to finger pointing and accusations. Among them: some members have bloated the foreign diplomacy by naming hundreds of individuals to posts at embassies and consulates. In an interview with Le Nouvelliste, the country's oldest daily, council President Fritz Alphonse Jean denounced the appointments and blamed them on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose new minister was appointed after Jean and others ousted Prime Minister Garry Conille and most of his ministers in November. 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