Haiti's transitional council, established to restore democratic order, signed a decree on Sunday to dismiss interim Prime Minister Garry Conille. He is set to be replaced by businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aime, who had previously been considered for the role.

The decree, set to be published on Monday but leaked to the media, aims to remove Conille after he has been in office for almost six months.

Conille has written to the transitional council asking for the decision not to be officially published.

Conille's relationship with transitional council soured

It is not immediately clear if the council, which includes various political and civil society groups, has the authority to dismiss Conille.

"This resolution, taken outside any legal and constitutional framework, raises serious concerns about its legitimacy and its impact on the future of our country," he wrote in the letter to the council.

Haiti has faced gang violence for years with the Caribbean country's last president, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated in July 2021. In late February this year, armed groups launched attacks in Port-au-Prince, aiming to overthrow then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Due to his unpopularity, Henry stepped down and handed power to the transitional council backed by the US and regional allies. In May, the council asked Conille to return to the role of prime minister.

Together, the council and interim prime minister were supposed to pave the way for elections next year. But Conille's recent refusal to reshuffle his cabinet, and his attempts to remove three council members accused of corruption, may have contributed to his dismissal.

Haiti has not held elections since 2016, primarily due to the escalating gang violence affecting the Caribbean nation.

Gang violence in Haiti has surged despite the arrival of a Kenyan-led police mission, with over 1,200 reported deaths from July to September, according to the United Nations.

lo/jsi (AFP, AP, Reuters)