In Haiti on Friday the Senate brought down the government by a vote of 18-0. There was one abstention. The government, including the prime minister, did not attend the vote, the result of which was, in effect, known in advance. Six senators who disapproved of the vote did not take part in the debate. The vote was reportedly held to protest against “a serious law and order situation and a dramatic reality of hunger”.

President Préval has nominated the former Minister of Planning in the previous government, Jean Max Bellerive, as prime minister-designate. Anyone who followed last year’s tortuous nomination process will be aware that designating a PM in Haiti is very different from actually having a PM approved by the legislature.

President Préval’s own party, Lespwa (L’Espoir – Hope), voted for the destitution of the government led by Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis. To me, this suggests that the president wanted a change. As a premier-presidential example of semi-presidentialism, the president does not have this power constitutionally. That said, party cohesion is weak (to say the least), so this may be a sign that the president simply does not control his ‘supporters’. Any clarifications would be welcome.