CPT: Bargaining, Dollars, and 'Foreign Threats' at the Heart of the Transition

The behind-the-scenes of the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) increasingly resemble a shadow play where political maneuvering, dirty money, and international pressure have mingled from the outset. On April 30, 2024, the election of the Prime Minister offered a spectacle worthy of a Haitian political scenario: twists, scandals, and spectacular reversals. Initially, the name of Paul Antoine Bien-Aimé (former Minister of National Education and former head of the Ministry of Interior and Local Authorities) circulated as the undisputed favorite to lead the Prime Minister's Office. But a discreet agreement (a deal) between Edgard Leblanc Fils, candidate for CPT coordinator, and Jean-Charles Moïse, leader of the Pitit Dessalines party, changed the situation. Result: Fritz Bélizaire was elected Prime Minister and Leblanc coordinator of the Presidential Transitional Council, thanks to a negotiated absolute majority of 4 out of 7 votes. “It was a masquerade, a fraudulent maneuver,” confided a bitter councilor who voted against it. A few minutes later, the three opponents announced the outright cancellation of the vote. Faced with this chaos, the CPT adopted an exceptional, or simply Haitian, resolution: henceforth, a qualified majority of 5 out of 7 votes would be required for any major decision. Furthermore, a rotating presidency was established at the head of the Council, intended to increase the number of beneficiaries of the 'cake' and make the CPT more fragile. According to several testimonies, a prominent businessman, who remained in the shadows, allegedly offered each favorable councilor 500,000 US dollars to ensure the election of Alix Didier Fils-Aimé. “The offer was too good for some,” confided someone close to the matter. Fils-Aimé’s victory seemed assured, and preparations for his official proclamation had already begun. It was then that an unexpected phone call changed the course of events. According to converging sources, an individual presenting himself as a high-ranking official from the US State Department directly threatened CPT members: “If you choose Fils-Aimé, expect heavy sanctions.” One cannot doubt that CPT members would fall into the trap of false pretenses. Panicked, the councilors caved. “We felt the weight of interference, it was clear,” whispered one of them, on condition of anonymity. The next day, against all expectations, Garry Conille was unanimously elected Prime Minister. The decree was published immediately. In New York, Conille announced his resignation from his position as UNICEF director (for Latin America and the Caribbean) to return to Port-au-Prince and assume his new political functions.
Believing Conille to be aligned with the American cause, the CPT members allowed him to form his government without constraint. He was even able to appropriate all sovereign ministries.
Conille's dismissal resulted from the CPT members uncovering this stratagem and the subsequent imperative to promptly replace him with Fils-Aimé, as part of accountability. This episode, involving bargaining, corruption, and external pressures, highlights the fragility of transitional institutions in Haiti. The CPT, intended to embody stability and democratic renewal, appears instead as a minefield, exposed to contradictory influences. “What happened is a mirror of our weaknesses: absence of consensus, endemic corruption, and vulnerability to foreign interference,” analyzes a Haitian political scientist. (Excerpt from Pierre Josué Agénor Cadet’s 35th book, Political History of Haiti from 1804 to 2025 or Memoir of a Captured State, to be published very soon) Pierre Josué Agénor Cadet