PREVAL NOMINATES CANDIDATE FOR PRIME MINISTER,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000607

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR
S/CRS
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR
INR/IAA
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2018
TAGS: HA KDEM PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: PREVAL NOMINATES CANDIDATE FOR PRIME MINISTER,
NEXT STEP PARLIAMENT

REF: PORT AU PRINCE 447

PORT AU PR 00000607 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: DCM Thomas C. Tighe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: Following weeks of consultations with
political parties and the private sector, President Preval
nominated Ericq Pierre on April 27 to replace Jacques-Edouard
Alexis as Prime Minister. Preval notified the presidents of
both houses of parliament April 27 of his choice and will
formalize his choice by official letter to both houses April

28. No stranger to Haitian politics, the 63 year-old Pierre,
currently the Haitian representative at the Inter-American
Development Bank, was previously nominated for the post
during Preval's first tenure as President (1996-2001) but
failed to receive parliamentary ratification, in part because
of doubts about his Haitian citizenship. If parliament
approves him and his still-to-be-named cabinet, Pierre faces
the difficult task of reestablishing public confidence in the
Preval administration at a time of stubbornly persistent food
price inflation. A technocrat with no formal political
affiliation, but having been close to President Preval for
many years, he may have difficulty asserting leadership over
his own government, which Preval micro-managed under former
PM Alexis. However, we expect Pierre -- an employee in the
U.S. Embassy's Economic-Commercial section in the 1970s -- to
work well with the U.S. If Pierre and his government are
rejected by either house of parliament, the search for a new
PM will begin anew. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Following two weeks of consultations with political
parties and other influential factions of Haitian society,
President Preval on April 27 chose 63 year-old Haiti
Representative at the Inter-American Development Bank Ericq
Pierre as his nominee for Prime Minister. Pierre succeeds
Jacques-Edouard Alexis, whose government fell in a Senate
vote of no-confidence April 12. Senate President Kely
Bastien informed Poloff April 27 that Preval notified both
presidents of the houses of parliament. Both presidents
agreed with his choice and Preval will formalize his choice
by expediting a letter April 28 to both houses. Upon receipt
of Preval's official notification, parliament expects Mr.
Pierre to present copies of his grandparents' birth
certificates to validate his Haitian citizenship and commence
the ratification process.


3. (SBU) No stranger to Haitian politics, Preval nominated
Pierre for Prime Minister in 1997 after his first PM, Rosny
Smarth, resigned. At that time, the parliament declined to
ratify the nomination due to doubts about Pierre's Haitian
citizenship and objections from OPL, former PM Smarth's
political party. (Note: Parliament requested Pierre provide
copies of his grandparents' birth certificates to prove his
Haitian "citizenship by origin," which article 11 of Haiti's
constitution defines as having at least one parent, and both
of that parent's parents, Haitian by origin. Pierre
allegedly could not provide a copy of his grandfather's birth
certificate and subsequently withdrew from of the
ratification process. End note.) He worked with Preval
during the latter's 1999 conflict with Parliament, during
Preval's campaign for the presidency 2005-2006 and during the
transition following Preval's victory. Currently the Haiti
Representative at the Inter-American Development Bank, Pierre
is a close friend of Preval's. An agronomist by training,
Pierre is the founder of the Association of Haitian
Agronomists (ANDAH) and has no known political party
affiliations.


4. (C) Fanmi Lavalas (FL) Deputies Jonas Coffy (West) and
Sorel Francois (West) revealed to Poloff April 25 that Ericq
Pierre was considered a "technocrat" in Haitian political
circles and too far removed from Haitian reality to be an
effective unifier. Both anticipated Pierre would have
difficulty passing the Chamber of Deputies. They suggested
FL elected officials would give any Preval nominee a hard
time based on Preval's continued exclusion of FL from the
political process and Preval's refusal to consult with FL
during the search process for a new Prime Minister. Senate
Vice President Andris Riche (OPL, Grand'Anse) told Poloff
April 25 that the Lespwa senators would have to vote in favor

PORT AU PR 00000607 002.2 OF 002


of any candidate Preval nominated. The "Group of 16" (the
sixteen senators who censured former Prime Minister Jacques
Edouard Alexis) would support the candidate, provided he or
she was qualified, had a vision, and was fully engaged.


5. (SBU) Comment: Under pressure from the international
community and the Haitian political class, Preval took just
two weeks to nominate a new PM. However, Ericq Pierre must
still, in consultation with the President, choose a cabinet,
and then present his government and its program to the
parliament for a vote of confidence. Piecing together a
government broadly representative of Haiti's main political
parties will be a process every bit as laborious as finding
the new PM. The more politically inclusive that government,
the better will be its chance of parliamentary approval. If
Pierre's government fails to win that approval, the selection
process begins anew. On May 8 (or when the electoral law
passes, whichever happens first) the Senate will lose 9
members whose two-year terms expire. (The tenth two-year
Senator, Ultimo Compere, was expelled March 18 for having
dual citizenship, reftel.) It is not clear how the rump
Senate's changed composition will affect Pierre's
ratification chances.


6. (C) Comment continued: As Prime Minister, Pierre will face
the difficult task of reestablishing government credibility
at a time of continuing food price inflation. As a
technocrat very close to President Preval, he will have his
work cut out for him in asserting control over his own
government. He will face attempts by President Preval to
micro-manage ministries, as occurred under the tenure of
ex-PM Alexis. He may also have trouble supervising ministers
from multiple political parties reluctant to work with an
"outsider" who has lived abroad so long. His international
economic experience and previous contacts with this Embassy,
however, lead us to believe he will be a well-disposed
interlocutor with the U.S.
SANDERSON