Haiti has new prime minister after months of stalemate

Oct 5, 2011, 5:14 GMT

Washington - Haiti's Senate approved a former UN development official as prime minister after a nearly five-month stalemate in the earthquake-ravaged country.

Garry Conille, who also served as an aide to former US president Bill Clinton when Clinton served as a UN special envoy to Haiti, was approved Tuesday night in Port-au-Prince by a 17-3 vote with nine abstentions, L'Agence Haitienne de Presse, or the Haitian Press Agency, reported.

He was President Michel Martelly's third choice for the post. The previous two nominees were voted down, leaving Haiti without a fully functioning government since Martelly took office in May.

Conille, 45, had been approved unanimously by the Chamber of Deputies last week.

Conille's opponents in the Senate argued that he did not meet residency requirements, saying he had been out of the country for the past five years, and did not hold an electoral card.

Conille is a gynecologist whose most recent job was as the resident coordinator in Niger for the UN Development Programme.

His experience at the United Nations has fostered hopes that he could help the development of the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation and its recovery from a January 2010 earthquake.

His next task is to present his policy programme to both chambers of the National Assembly. He is to work with Martelly to select a cabinet.