Haiti’s seven-member transitional council will vote for the country’s next president Tuesday, a week after it formally assumed power in the chaotic Caribbean nation.
The vote is the next step in efforts to restore stability and order in Haiti, which has been plagued by gang violence since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
The island plunged further into instability after a plane carrying then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry was forced to land in the U.S. Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico when it was denied entry into the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
Henry had departed Haiti the week before on a mission to the South American nation of Guyana and the east African nation of Kenya to gain support for the deployment of a multinational United Nations peacekeeping force to Haiti.
The gangs used Henry’s absence to attack the National Penitentiary and another prison in Port-au-Prince, killing several people and allowing thousands of inmates to escape into the city. Gangs also staged shooting attacks on Haiti’s main airport.
Henry was due to step down in February but had delayed elections due to the worsening security situation and a political stalemate with opposition forces.
Henry finally resigned on March 11 in favor of the transitional authority. The council’s mandate ends in February 2026, when new elections are slated to take place.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse.
