PORT OF SPAIN – Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Hon. Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, to President-Elect of Haiti, H.E. Rene Preval shares his congratulory letter.
March 15th, 2006
His Excellency René Préval
President-Elect
Haiti
Dear President-Elect,
On behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and further to the Community’s statement of 18 February 2006 in reaction to the notification of the official results of the presidential elections, I have the honour and the pleasure to congratulate you on your victory following the first round of the presidential elections of 7 February.
The margin of your victory is testimony to the achievements of your first term in office which brought a fresh breath of hope to the majority of the Haitian people, and to your efforts during the presidential campaign to reach out across the social and political divide and to focus on the factors that are critical for the social, political and economic development of your country. Key among these are reconciliation and stability.
Your victory also opens the path to the re-engagement of Haiti at the highest levels of the Councils of the Community given the all-embracing endorsement of your election as a reflection of the will of the people. As you no doubt recall, the Caribbean Community took the principled position in March 2004 following the interruption of the democratic process of 29 February 2004 that the representatives of the Interim Administration of Haiti would not be permitted to participate in the Councils of the Community until the return to constitutional rule. With your victory at the polls, that process is well on the way to being achieved.
The Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community stands ready to accompany you and the people of Haiti as you confront the many challenges in the quest for the sustained political, economic and social development of Haiti.
Please accept, Mr. President-Elect, the assurances of my highest consideration.
Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government
