Haitian parliament rejects prime minister nominee

Haitian President Michel Martelly says he’s deeply disappointed but will abide by the parliament’s decision to reject his nominee for Prime Minister, Daniel-Gerard Rouzier, who is also the honorary counsel general of Jamaica.



Forty-two deputies voted against Rouzier's nomination, most of them members of former president Rene Preval's Unity Party, while 19 deputies voted in favour and three abstained.



In debates before the vote, several deputies expressed concern that Rouzier was a businessman, pointing to a possible conflict of interest if he became prime minister.



He is also the founder of E-Power, a company that supplies many Haitians with electricity and holds government contracts.



The Haitian parliament’s rejection of Rouzier comes more than a month after Martelly was installed as President in the earthquake-ravaged French-speaking CARICOM country.



Haiti still lacks a legitimate government after Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and his cabinet resigned following Martelly’s inauguration.