Conflicts Haiti's head of government apparently dismissed from office again

In the crisis-hit country of Haiti, the head of government Garry Conille, who has only been in office for five months, is apparently to be dismissed again. This emerged from the official gazette to be published on Monday, which was made available to the AFP news agency in advance.

According to this, the nine-member Haitian Transitional Council has dismissed Conille. Businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé is to take his place. According to the official gazette, the transitional council - which consists of representatives from various political and civil society groups in Haiti - voted unanimously to dismiss Conille. According to the US newspaper "Miami Herald", the head of government and the council had fallen out: The transitional council, which had only been set up this year against the backdrop of the severe crisis in Haiti, wanted to replace several ministers against Conille's will.

Is dismissal legal?

So far, however, it is unclear whether the transitional council is authorized to dismiss the head of government at all. The renewed escalation of the situation threatens to create a power vacuum in Haiti - and exacerbate the situation in the country once again. The Caribbean state of Haiti has been in a serious crisis for years, with political instability and economic hardship contributing alongside gang violence. The situation worsened at the end of February during a trip abroad by the then interim head of government, Ariel Henry. Armed gang members attacked police stations and freed thousands of prisoners from prisons. They demanded the resignation of Henry, who had been in power since 2021 and whose term of office had expired at the beginning of February. In mid-March, Henry finally agreed to step down and handed over the reins of government to the transitional council until Conille was appointed as the new interim prime minister at the end of May.

Little improvement in the situation

Since then, the situation in the country has not improved: even a multinational police mission supported by the UN and led by Kenya has so far been unable to contain the violence in the country. According to UN figures published in October, more than 1,200 people were killed in the country between July and September alone, while kidnappings and sexual violence against women and girls are commonplace. According to UN figures, more than 700,000 people in the country of ten million inhabitants have fled within the country as a result of gang violence in the Caribbean state.

SDA