Various Haitian newspapers are reporting that President Préval is under pressure to nominate a prime minister as soon as possible.

Radio Kiskeya reports that he has received a ‘deadline’ of the end of week from the 16 senators whose votes resulted in the dismissal of the prime minister just over a week ago. It is also reported by Haiti progrès that that he is under pressure to make an appointment from the international donor community who want to ensure that there is no leadership gap.

There seems to be pressure on President Préval to appoint a non-partisan prime minister. In part, this is because there is no clear party or coalition majority in either house of the legislature. However, Radio Kiskeya is reporting a rumour that President Préval is deliberately taking his time over the appointment because the mandates of eight of the 16 opposition senators expire on 9 May. If he can wait until then, he may end with more room for manoeuvre in terms of the appointment.

Currently, Haiti is experiencing what Skach calls divided minority government. In other words, neither the president nor the prime minister has a parliamentary majority. Skach associates this form of government with democratic breakdown, citing the example of the Weimar Republic and, more recently, Russia. Therefore, the stakes appear to be high in Haiti at the moment.