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Haiti Interim President Appoints PM to Help Organize Election


Haiti's provisional president Jocelerme Privert (L) and appointed prime minister Fritz Jean listen to the national anthem at Jean's inauguration ceremony in the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 26, 2016.
Haiti's provisional president Jocelerme Privert (L) and appointed prime minister Fritz Jean listen to the national anthem at Jean's inauguration ceremony in the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 26, 2016.

Haiti's provisional president has appointed reputable economist Fritz Jean as the new prime minister, a senior official said, in a step forward for the impoverished Caribbean nation that is trying to quickly hold a delayed presidential election.

Anthony Barbier, a top official at President Jocelerme Privert's palace, said the president had signed an executive order appointing Jean, a former central bank governor.

"I can confirm that President Privert has signed the executive order appointing Fritz Alphonse Jean as prime minister," Barbier told Reuters.

Jean's job will include helping create a balanced election council supported by Haiti's fractious rival political parties, a key step needed to hold the election set for April.

A runoff election due on Jan. 24 was cancelled amid violent protests, and after the opposition candidate said he would not take part because of widespread fraud in the first round.

Privert is meant to hand over power to an elected president in May.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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