Jan 21, 2022
Haiti’s Henry Says He’ll Remain in Office Until New Elections
Bloomberg News
,(Bloomberg) -- Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry pushed back against those who claim his mandate ends next month and that he should make way for a transitional government, as the search for answers about the July 7 murder of President Jovenel Moise continues.
In a tweet Friday Henry said that his term does not end on Feb. 7, as some local political parties argue, and that his administration will organize “free and democratic elections” at an undetermined date.
“The next tenant of the National Palace will be a president freely elected by all the Haitian people,” he wrote.
Henry has been leading the country since Moise was murdered by a hit squad six months ago, and some contend that his presidential term ends Feb. 7, when Moise was due to step down. Among those making that argument is a group of Haitian politicians who met in Louisiana last weekend and named an interim prime minister and interim president they said should assume office and organize the vote.
Read More: Haiti Political Groups Propose Interim Leaders in U.S. Talks
Henry’s grasp on power is also being threatened by reports that he may have had ties to some of those involved in the assassination.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice said it had arrested Rodolphe Jaar, a Haitian-Chilean citizen, for his alleged involvement in the killing. Last month, Mario Antonio Palacios, a former Colombian soldier, was also charged in the U.S. in connection with the crime. Both men had initially been detained in the Dominican Republic.
Henry has always denied involvement in the murder.
“My government is, more than ever, determined to bring the investigation into the assassination of President Jovenel Moise to a successful conclusion,” he wrote on Twitter Friday. “The perpetrators and sponsors of this heinous crime must be prosecuted and punished.”
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