Haiti: PM Laurent Lamothe steps down amid violent protests

Haiti’s PM Laurent Lamothe has resigned amid violent anti-government protests over delayed elections.

“I am leaving the post of prime minister this evening with a feeling of accomplishment,” Laurent Lamothe said in a televised address.

Protesters had called for President Michel Martelly and Laurent Lamothe to resign.

Michel Martelly was to have called polls in 2011, but they were postponed in a stalemate over electoral law.

Opposition politicians accuse Michel Martelly of wanting to rule by decree and that legislation that would authorize the vote unfairly favors the government.

The government argues that opposition politicians are dragging their feet in the hope of extending their time in office without elections.

Parliament’s mandate expires in January, and unless elections are held, Michel Martelly would rule by decree.

A commission set up to break the stalemate said on December 12 that PM Laurent Lamothe should resign, along with the head of the Supreme Court and the country’s election commission.

Michel Martelly said earlier that the accepted the commission’s findings, and would meet government officials on December 15 to discuss them.

Haiti is also still struggling to recover from a devastating 2010 earthquake.