Overview:
Laurent Saint-Cyr has assumed the position of president of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council (CPT), changing Fritz Alphonse Jean amid rising criticism. Accused of inefficiency, corruption and serving private pursuits, the CPT faces calls for for its dissolution from a number of political and civil society teams. In his set up speech Thursday, Saint-Cyr promised to revive safety, conduct elections and set up a constitutional referendum, regardless of his predecessors having failed to meet any of those guarantees for over 15 months.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — In a second loaded with symbolism however brief on outcomes, Laurent Saint-Cyr turned the fourth chief of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council (CPT) Thursday, Aug. 7, in simply 15 months. The ceremony, held on the Villa d’Accueil, marked one more management handoff in a transition course of more and more seen by many Haitians as adrift.
Saint-Cyr assumes management at a time when Haiti stays mired in overlapping crises. Armed gangs now management not less than 90% of the capital, in keeping with the United Nations, killing over 8,700 folks, displacing 1.3 million and leaving over 5 million going through acute meals insecurity. On this atmosphere, elections have develop into practically unattainable, the financial system continues to falter and the humanitarian disaster deepens by the day.
Not less than 33 law enforcement officials have been killed from June 2024 to June 2025, in keeping with the Nationwide Human Rights Protection Community (RNDDH).
Whereas the brand new CPT chief pledged to revive safety, set up a controversial constitutional referendum, and put together for elections—his three predecessors made the identical guarantees. Many query whether or not his management will mark a departure from a 9-member presidential council suffering from inaction and inner energy struggles.
“The scenario is chaotic. That is now not the time for high quality speeches, however for taking motion, as a result of an excessive amount of blood has been shed and an excessive amount of time has been misplaced,” Saint-Cyr mentioned. “We should come collectively to ship the outcomes the persons are ready for.”
Saint-Cyr, a rich businessman and former head of the Haitian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Business, is backed by the personal sector. His 7-month time period is longer than any of his three predecessors, whose tenures have been marked by lofty ambitions and few outcomes.
“The scenario is chaotic. That is now not the time for high quality speeches, however for taking motion, as a result of an excessive amount of blood has been shed and an excessive amount of time has been misplaced. We should come collectively to ship the outcomes the persons are ready for.”
Laurent Saint-Cyr, new president of the CPT
Every former CPT president—Edgard Leblanc Fils, Leslie Voltaire and Fritz Alphonse Jean—failed to enhance the worsening insecurity. Gang management expanded, primary providers deteriorated and main initiatives stalled. Jean, for instance, introduced a “warfare price range” that was by no means revealed, and funds for police weren’t disbursed.
Regardless of the CPT’s said priorities underneath an April 3 Settlement—safety, constitutional reform and elections—the council has made little measurable progress. Key neighborhoods and cities stay underneath gang management, and no credible nationwide dialogue or transitional justice course of has taken root.
In his remarks, Saint-Cyr echoed the council’s authentic mission: restore constitutional order, reconcile state and nation and safeguard Haiti’s pursuits. He emphasised eliminating gangs and fostering hope amongst Haitians who stay within the nation.
Among the many main obstacles are the CPT’s credibility and inefficiency
The CPT’s credibility continues to erode because of varied scandals, along with the establishment being an inefficient and costly governing physique. A number of members, together with notably Emmanuel Vertilaire, Louis Gérald Gilles and Smith Augustin, have been implicated in corruption allegations.
A report by RNDDH discovered that every of the council’s 9 members prices the state $924,000 yearly—over $8.3 million in whole. That quantities to a month-to-month value of $77,000 per member—fueling public resentment in a rustic the place the average monthly salary of formal sector workers is estimated to be between $150 and $200.
The CPT was created following the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry in March 2024, underneath strain from each Haitian stakeholders and worldwide actors, together with CARICOM and the US. It was meant to be a compromise physique to revive democratic governance. As a substitute, it has presided over worsening insecurity, deepening financial collapse and institutional paralysis.
Now, lots of the identical teams that supported the CPT’s creation—with their representatives concerned—are calling for its finish. Members of the Fanmi Lavalas political get together, the Montana Accord and Historic Compromise/RED/EDE, key gamers within the CPT’s formation and capabilities, say the council has failed to determine legitimacy.
“The CPT has locked itself into opaque practices, ignoring the struggling of the folks,” mentioned leaders of the Montana Accord. “Its members have consolidated energy primarily based on political alliances and private pursuits, on the expense of nationwide safety and democratic reconstruction.”
For Joël Édouard Vorbe, a senior official of Fanmi Lavalas, “the CPT’s failure is broadly acknowledged.” “As political leaders, if we should select between insecurity and resignation, we select resignation,” Vorbe mentioned.
Even inside the CPT, tensions are rising. Outgoing president Fritz Jean accused Saint-Cyr and Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé of enabling a personal sector takeover of govt energy. In a fiery Aug. 5 interview, Jean mentioned the enterprise class has performed a key position in fueling gang violence and trafficking.
Personal sector leaders, together with economist Kesner “Roro” Pharel and activist Pierre Antoine Louis, defended Saint-Cyr. They labeled Jean’s feedback as bitter and misguided, arguing that excluding enterprise voices from politics is each unrealistic and counterproductive.
“He’s aggressive within the sense that he launched a really sturdy assault on the Haitian personal sector,” Pharel mentioned. “Worryingly, as Jean predicts, Saint-Cyr’s time period will likely be robust, with Haiti going through as much as eight years of financial recession.
Saint-Cyr steps into this fractured panorama with a heavy mandate and restricted time. Whether or not he can obtain what his predecessors couldn’t—safety, elections, and a respectable authorities—stays to be seen. What is obvious is that Haiti’s transition has run out of time and excuses.