On October 8th, Beijing’s Xinhua News Agency reported from Port-au-Prince that the Haitian Transitional Presidential Committee held a handover ceremony on October 7th, where Leslie Voltaire officially took over as chair from Edgar Leblanc Fis.

The Transitional Presidential Committee is made up of nine members, of which seven have voting rights and two do not. According to the committee’s rules, the chair position rotates among four members every five months.

During his speech at the handover ceremony, Voltaire announced the creation of a temporary electoral committee. He expressed concern over the current security situation in Haiti, stating, “We are not satisfied with the security situation,” and highlighted the urgent need to “rebuild national security.” Voltaire also called for a moment of silence for the victims of a gang attack in the town of Ponsan on October 3rd, which claimed more than 70 lives.

On October 4th, five voting members of the committee signed a resolution affirming Voltaire’s new role as chair, in line with majority approval principles. However, the outgoing chair, Leblanc Fis, did not sign the resolution, citing ongoing corruption allegations against three of the voting members who did.

According to a report from Reuters, Haiti’s anti-corruption agency recommended legal action against those three members, alleging they received credit cards from the chairman of a state-owned bank and solicited nearly $770,000 from him. All three members have denied these allegations. The resolution signed on October 4th also established that two members would take over the chair position in March and August 2025, respectively.

The Transitional Presidential Committee was inaugurated in April of this year. Under a prior government decree, the committee holds specific presidential powers temporarily during this transitional phase ahead of the presidential election. A democratically elected president is anticipated to take office by February 7, 2026, at the latest. The decree also specifies that members facing criminal charges, prosecution, or convictions in any jurisdiction are not eligible to serve on the committee.