Haiti must quickly install new premier, U.N. says

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haiti, whose prime minister was fired early on Friday, risks a return to economic and political instability unless it appoints a replacement quickly, the U.N. peacekeeping mission said.

Haiti's Senate voted Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis out of office by a simple majority of 18 of its 29 members after lawmakers faulted her performance in promoting economic recovery in the impoverished Caribbean nation. She had been in office for just over a year.

Senators from President Rene Preval's party had led the criticism of Pierre-Louis and he was expected to move quickly to appoint a replacement.

"Our understanding is that he wants to designate a prime minister without any delay and he was already consulting on the issue in order to make a decision very shortly," said Senate Vice President Michel Clerie, who met Preval on Friday.

Clerie and other sources said Planning and External Cooperation Minister Jean Max Bellerive, who is popular among diplomats and the international community, was one likely choice to succeed Pierre-Louis.

The United Nations mission praised Pierre-Louis for her response to a series of devastating hurricanes in 2008 and what it called her spirit of constructive collaboration with Haiti's international partners.

"The adoption of this censure motion comes at a critical time of efforts to achieve political, economic and social stabilization of the country," the mission known by the French acronym MINUSTAH said in a statement.

"It is therefore essential to proceed without delay to the installation of a new prime minister and a new government team to avoid any risk of a return to a period of instability that could hinder the encouraging prospects that have emerged recently in the fields of investment and job creation."

Pierre-Louis had rejected accusations that she failed to use effectively millions of dollars made available through an oil discount agreement with Venezuela to repair buildings and roads damaged in storms last year.

But Senator Joseph Lambert, a member of Preval's Lespwa movement, said she had done nothing to improve living standards since she was appointed head of government.

"Prime Minister Pierre-Louis proved she did not have the capacity nor the leadership to meet the population's expectations and satisfy its basic needs. That's why we were obliged to fire her," said Lambert.

CLINTON'S HOPES

Pierre-Louis' removal was likely to disappoint Bill Clinton, the former U.S. president and U.N. special envoy for Haiti who had been counting on political stability to attract foreign investment to help develop the poor Caribbean state.

Development experts say some 70 percent of Haiti's population of 9 million live on less than $2 dollars a day, making it the poorest state in the Americas.

Four hurricanes and tropical storms pounded the country last year, killing some 800 people, devastating crops, washing away bridges and flooding seaside towns.

Clinton surprised some analysts early in October by telling an investor conference in Port-au-Prince that Haiti's political risk was lower than it had ever been in his lifetime.

Some 9,000 United Nations troops and police keep the peace in Haiti, which has a history of violence and instability.

Five years ago, a president was overthrown by armed rebels and 18 months ago food riots toppled another prime minister.

Haiti's recent history has included a popular uprising that ousted the 30-year Duvalier family dictatorship in 1986, a military coup that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1991 and years of gang violence and political tumult.

Clinton and institutions like the Inter-American Development Bank have been hoping to lure new business to reactivate the Haitian economy, especially in areas like agriculture and textiles.

Haiti won $1.2 billion in debt relief from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other creditors in July, freeing up $50 million a year to spend on other projects.

Opponents of the resolution to fire Pierre-Louis called it unconstitutional and said lawmakers had no power to remove the head of government without explicit instructions from Preval.

"It is really unjust to say Prime Minister Pierre-Louis is responsible for the problems of poverty and social inequality we have been facing for more than 200 years," Senator Rudy Heriveaux said.

There was no immediate reaction from Preval or Pierre-Louis.

(Editing by Jane Sutton and Anthony Boadle)

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