Haiti Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe resigns amid unrest, replacement announced

Haitian Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe on April 14 has submitted his resignation to President Jovenel Moise. Without explaining the reason, he announced his decision on Twitter. His resignation follows a situation of unrest in the country, There has been an increase in killing and kidnapping cases over the past few days. 

Joseph Jouthe resigns as PM

Joseph Jouthe had served as prime minister since March 2020. He had previously also tried to resign but President Moise had refused to accept it. But, this time he accepted his resignation and even nominated Claude Joseph as the new prime minister. Jouthe on Twitter said that he had submitted his resignation to the President. He had thanked his colleagues in the government for their support.

The resignation of Joseph Jouthe was accepted by the President who said that the resignation would help in addressing the issue of insecurity problem in the country. In the tweet, he said that "The resignation of the Government, which I accepted, will make it possible to address the glaring problem of insecurity and continue discussions to achieve the consensus necessary for the political and institutional stability of our country." He has appointed Foreign Minister Claude Joseph as acting Prime Minister. He becomes the sixth prime minister to serve the country under the Moise government.

Political situation in Haiti

Haiti has been facing more than a year of protests as the opposition leaders have claimed that President Jovenel Moise's five-year term has ended. The opposition leaders have demanded the resignation of the president but he has refused to do it. He announced that authorities had arrested people who were planning an alleged coup to kill him. The United National Security Council has also criticized “the protracted political, constitutional, humanitarian and security crises in Haiti”. They urged the government to hold legislative elections and prepare for presidential elections this year.

(Inputs and Image: AP)