More than a week following the second meeting between Prime Minister Ariel Henry and Magali Comeau Denis on the Montana agreement, the two parties are colliding over a question of the terms of the negotiations. In a counter-proposal for the modalities of discussions, Ariel Henry submitted four points that the Montana team considers incomplete because it does not take into account the question of the governance of the country.
The last meeting between Ariel Henry and Magali Comeau Denis dates back to Sunday, May 15, 2022. Since then, the two parties have engaged in a sort of game of correspondence on the terms of negotiation.
The BSA had first submitted the terms of the negotiations to the Prime Minister for assessment and possible modification. These were the creation of an environment conducive to the success of the political dialogue process; the objectives of the political dialogue; the place and duration of the discussions; the agenda for discussions; the composition of delegations; observation of political dialogue.
The Prime Minister, in his response, did not take into consideration the terms submitted by the Montana agreement. He made another proposal for discussion around four points: insecurity and corruption; the change of the Constitution; the formation of the Electoral Council for the organization of elections and social appeasement programs.
According to Ernst Mathurin, a member of the Montana Accord Monitoring Office, who made public on radio Magik9 Ariel Henry’s counter-proposal, in his proposal for the terms of negotiations, Dr. Henry does not see things under the same angle as the Montana accord. However, he acknowledged that some points in the Prime Minister’s counter-proposal are part of Montana’s agenda. “But that’s not enough…” he argued.
In Ernst Mathurin’s opinion, an environment must be created for the implementation of the four points in Ariel Henry’s counter-proposal which, he added, must be ensured by a responsible team.
This member of the Montana Accord Monitoring Office pointed out that in Ariel Henry’s counter-proposal there are no discussions of governance. “For him, there is no problem of governance. He needs advice and support for his government,” said Ernst Mathurin.
“On Saturday May 21, we replied to the Prime Minister to tell him that there is a serious governance problem which does not date from his administration but which worsened with him”, declared Ernst Mathurin on Magik9 radio.
The Montana Accord Monitoring Office is now awaiting the Prime Minister’s response. A relative of Ariel Henry told the Nouvelliste that for the moment the priority of the head of government is not a change of positions in the public administration. “The current priority is the restoration of security, the fight once morest corruption, the functioning of the Court of Cassation, the formation of a Provisional Electoral Council and the organization of elections”, confided this member of the government.
As was the case following negotiations broke down last February, members of the Montana Accord and Prime Minister Ariel Henry are struggling over the terms of the negotiations.
