Former Presidential Candidate Rumored to be on Short List for Prime Minister

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - The short list for the next Prime Minister of Haiti has a former presidential rival to Michel Martelly, Jean Henri Ceant, as a possible nominee for the post.

The candidate, Ceant, was the 4th placed contender in the presidential elections of November 28 2010, following Mirlande Manigat, Jude Celestin and the eventual president, Michel Martelly.

Simon Dieusel, Senator of the Centre, believes that the negotiations of Martelly's first Prime Minister were a drag. The Senator has called the President to take steps so that by next week the process of ratification of the Prime Minister designate is launched.

Deputy Guy Gérard George did not speculate on any prime minister possiblities, stating that in discussions between the Parliamentary Group for the Renewal (GPR), majority bloc, which he is a member and the Head of State, no name has been cited.

His colleague of the Thomazeau/Croix-des-Bouquets, Jean Tholbert Alexis indicated that the list of the ten contenders has been reduced to 2 figures whose one could benefit from the downstream of the parliamentarians.

For his part, President Martelly insisted that with ' with or without Prime Minister he will not remain the arms cross but will honor his campaign promises

Asides from Ceant, Jean Max Bellerive, whose record has been reported at nausium in the past 2 years and a former Minister of Justice, Bernard Gousse are being cited in speculative conversations.

But the AHP reported that some parliamentarians did not even wait for a designation of Mr Gousse before expressing their disapproval. These critics turn to his record as the Ministry of Justice which was during the second term of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. This was iterated by the Deputy from Miragoane/Fond-des-Nègres, Faustin Poly.

"Time spent per Mr Gousse at the Department of Justice leaves wounds still very vivid in society", he said, indicating that Gousse was guilty of grave violations of human rights, including arbitrary arrests and the persecution policies, while he rehabilitated individuals who had been sentenced for crimes against humanity.

"I will not vote for Mr. Gousse and if the block to which I belong decided otherwise I would be the first dissident," Poly said.

One of the Senator from Centre, Simon Dieuseul Dera, has indicated that Mr. Gousse has left scars indelible in the body and the heart of many Haitians, "that is why, he must not even consider to count on my support", said the Senator.