Haitian politicians have reached a last-minute agreement to create a transitional government less than 24 hours before President Michel Martelly was constitutionally required to step down after his five-year term. The country's Provisional Electoral Council has postponed the vote three times due to widespread criticisms of electoral fraud, fear of violence and an independent commission's investigation into the process.
Under the agreement, as Martelly steps down on Sunday, the current prime minister Evans Paul will hold his position until a provisional president is elected by the National Assembly, according to The Guardian. The provisional president will then supervise the selection of a new prime minister by consensus, whose main role will be to administer the postponed legislative and presidential runoff elections within 120 days, The Toronto Star explained. The run-offs are now scheduled for April 24, and the new president to be sworn in on May 14.
The Caribbean country has faced political uncertainty and intensifying protests since the initial polls in October. During the first round of voting, the candidate backed by President Michel Martelly, Jovenel Moise, won a third of the vote, with opposition candidate Jude Celestin getting a quarter of the vote. Celestin called the vote a "ridiculous farce," and opposition protesters decried what they call an electoral coup-accusing Martelly of trying to stay in power, according to Reuters.
This past week, a man was killed during ongoing protests in the capital of Port-au-Prince when protesters mistook him to be a former military officer, BBC News reported.
Haiti remains the poorest country in the Americas during the ongoing political turmoil. The nation has relied primarily on foreign aid and international donations since the devastating earthquake of 2010.
