Haiti’s Martelly Urges Patience After Prime Minister Resigns

Haitian President Michel Martelly urged the Caribbean nation to remain calm as he seeks to replace his prime minister who resigned yesterday and accelerate recovery efforts from the 2010 earthquake.

Prime Minister Garry Conille, a former United Nations diplomat supported by Haiti’s opposition parties, left from his post amid disputes over how relief aid was handled.

“We’ve taken action for a quick exit from this situation and I will propose a new prime minister,” Martelly said in a televised address late yesterday. “I regret that the resignation occurs in a context in which the country is beginning to take off.”

Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, is still rebuilding from the January 2010 quake that killed 300,000 people. The U.S. and Canada called on Martelly to quickly appoint a new prime minister, warning that a void in leadership could undermine the recovery.

“We continue to believe that political stability in Haiti is critical to its ability to attract the domestic and foreign investments needed to increase economic development and create jobs,” the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince said in a statement.