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The Haitian Senate elected its leader Joseph Lambert as interim successor to assassinated President Jovenel Moise.
“I express my humble gratitude to the political institutions that support me,” Lambert wrote on Twitter Friday night.
He said he wanted to pave the way for a democratic transition of power.
Presidential and legislative elections are scheduled for September in Haiti.
However, the Senate – the upper house of the Haitian parliament – has not reached a quorum since January 2020. It was therefore not clear at first whether Lambert would indeed be able to take office.
Because a general election slated for October 2019 was called off, in part due to violent protests against Moise, there are only 10 out of 30 senators whose terms have not expired.
There is no one left in the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies.
Eight of the 10 senators voted for Lambert and two abstained, according to media reports.
There was also considerable confusion over the role of the acting prime minister following the shock assassination at Moise’s home.
It must have been neurosurgeon Ariel Henry, whom Moise had appointed to the post on Monday.
Henry’s swearing-in ceremony, scheduled for Wednesday, was canceled after the murder, however.
Claude Joseph, the foreign minister and former interim prime minister who was to be replaced by Henry, declared himself interim head of government.
In this capacity, he has delivered speeches to the nation, signed executive orders and met with representatives of foreign governments in recent days.
Moses was attacked and shot dead at his residence on Wednesday evening. His wife Martine was seriously injured. She is treated in the United States.
According to Haitian police, 28 foreign mercenaries committed the murder: 26 Colombians and two Americans of Haitian descent.
So far, 20 suspects have been arrested and three killed. The background to the crime is still murky.
Moise, in office since 2017, was extremely unpopular. He has been accused of corruption, brutal gang connections and autocratic tendencies.
Opposition parties had already appointed a Supreme Court judge as interim president in February because they believed Moise’s term had expired.
Protests have paralyzed Haiti several times over the past three years. More recently, bloody gang fighting for control of parts of the capital has forced thousands to flee.
Source: Mexico (dpa / GNA)
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