By Emmanuel Roy, Founder of HDPAC
As Haiti teeters on the edge of collapse—gripped by gang violence, institutional breakdown,
and a desperate cry for bold, principled leadership—there is growing speculation in
Washington, D.C., about reinstating Dr. Garry Conille as head of a new transitional
government. That would be a monumental mistake.
Dr. Conille, who briefly served as Prime Minister from 2011 to 2012 under President Michel
Martelly, was again appointed interim Prime Minister in June 2024 with support from the
Haitian Diaspora. I was, in fact, the first person to urge Dr. Conille, back in 2022, to consider
returning to serve as Prime Minister—a decision I now deeply regret.
While his resume is polished and marked by global affiliations—including with the United
Nations and the Clinton Foundation—Dr. Conille is emblematic of the top-down, externally-
driven leadership that has repeatedly failed the Haitian people. Choosing him to head the
transitional government would not only reinforce that failed pattern but also alienate the
very grassroots support required for national renewal.
Dr. Conille’s first term lasted a mere four months, cut short by internal power struggles and
his inability to navigate or unify a fragmented political environment. That brief and
ineffective tenure mirrored the very dysfunction Haiti is desperate to move beyond. His
recent return in June 2024 has offered little reason for renewed confidence. Instead of
fostering consensus or asserting clear leadership, he spent the majority of his time in
combative standoffs with the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT). He surrounded
himself with advisors more interested in personal gain than national recovery, undermining
security and institutional reform efforts at a critical time.
Moreover, Dr. Conille lacks organic ties to the Haitian population. He is widely viewed as a
technocrat parachuted into leadership at the behest of international actors—out of touch
with the suffering, resilience, and hopes of the people. Haiti is in urgent need of leadership
born from struggle, not resume credentials; from lived experience, not elite conference
rooms.
This disconnect is particularly dangerous in a climate where foreign intervention is met
with suspicion, and transitional leaders are often viewed as pawns of international powers.
Conille’s deep and visible associations with global institutions only exacerbate public
mistrust and the perception of a government driven by external interests rather than
national sovereignty.
Haiti’s next transitional leader must be someone who can do more than issue statements.
They must forge broad alliances, confront entrenched criminal networks, bring political and
civil society factions to the table, and inspire a grassroots movement toward healing and
institutional legitimacy. Dr. Conille has never demonstrated the capacity to galvanize this
kind of movement or manage such complexity. He lacks the political base and moral
gravitas required to pull Haiti from the brink.
This is Haiti’s opportunity to start fresh—not by recycling ineffective leaders, but by
elevating a new generation rooted in credibility, justice, and national unity. The future
leader must be a bridge-builder—able to mobilize youth, engage the Diaspora, and stand
courageously against corruption and foreign manipulation. That is not Dr. Garry Conille.
Bringing him back as transitional president would signal a return to elite capture,
international dependence, and political inertia. Haiti needs more than administrative
experience—it needs moral authority, deep public trust, and transformative leadership.
The Haitian people deserve better. And this moment demands better.
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