The President of Haiti has appointed Jean Michel Lapin as interim Prime Minister following the collapse of the government of Jean Henri Ceant on Monday.
Through a message on social media on Thursday, the Ministry of Communication said that Lapin was appointed until the formation of a new government, but did not say when he will take up his role.
On Monday, 93 of the 103 members of the Lower Chanber of Deputies voted in favor of removing Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant from office.
However, Ceant has indicated that he will not demit office, saying he was waiting for the final decision of the Senate.
The Senate, citing the recent arrest of five armed Americans last month and their subsequent release with the help of the State Department, had summoned both Céant and his justice minister to its chamber on Monday.
Senate President Carl Murat Cantave tweeted that due to the lack of a quorum, the prime minister’s session is being rescheduled for Wednesday
However, in the Lower Chamber of Deputies, where 104 Deputies, were present, they voted by a wide margin to censure the Prime Minister.
The agenda of the session was adopted by 88 deputies, 12 against and 4 abstentions and without the prime minister present, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies announced the continuation of the interpellation.
In the vote to remove the government, 93 law makers voted in favour of the motion, six against and three abstained.
In recent weeks, President Moise has been under pressure from opposition parties to step down over his handling of domestic affairs as well as the use of funds under the PetroCaribe an oil alliance of many Caribbean states with Venezuela to purchase oil on conditions of preferential payment.
Moise has already indicated that he does not intend to step down in favour of armed gangs and drug traffickers, acknowledging that the “the crisis we are going through is very serious”.
Last month, CARICOM leaders at their inter-sessional summit in St. Kitts-Nevis “expressed deep concern about the situation prevailing in Haiti during the past three weeks characterized by violent protests jeopardizing the political, economic and social stability of the country’.
Independent Caribbean News 