PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe announced early today that he was resigning along with several ministers in the wake of violent anti-government protests and a commission’s call for him to step down.
In a speech that was delayed past midnight, Lamothe said he was leaving “with a sense of accomplishment”, adding: “This country has undergone a deep and dynamic transformation and a real change in benefit of its people.”
President Michel Martelly said earlier he accepted the findings of the commission that had recommended Lamothe’s replacement.
Martelly appointed Lamothe as prime minister in 2012, and some political analysts believe Lamothe might seek the presidency in upcoming elections.
Lamothe’s resignation complicates the current political situation because nominations for a new prime minister require approval from Parliament and it is unclear whether someone would be nominated before Parliament is dissolves in January, said Michael Deibert, author of Notes from the Last Testament: The Struggle for Haiti.
He noted that Lamothe was Martelly’s third nomination for prime minister during a drawn-out selection process.
“Without a functioning Parliament and without a prime minister, I’m afraid it could be a tumultuous time in January,” Deibert said in a telephone interview from Cap-Haitien.
He warned that political instability would undermine confidence in the government and the confidence that the international community has in Haiti in terms of investment.
“That’s not an image that Haiti wants to project to the world,” Deibert said.
Haiti’s capital has endured a growing number of violent demonstrations in recent weeks during which protesters have demanded the holding of elections that were expected in 2011 and the resignations of Lamothe as well as Martelly.
