Haiti’s new prime minister has vowed to seek unity in his first statement since a transitional council selected him to head the government in the troubled Caribbean country.

U.N. development specialist Garry Conille has been named Haiti’s new prime minister nearly a month after a coalition within a fractured transitional council had chosen someone else for the position.

The former mayor of a small Haitain town is being sued in Boston for allegedly killing, torturing and terrorizing his political opponents.

The last time Haiti was thrust into turmoil by assassination was 1915, when rebels beat to death President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, triggering a nearly two-decade U.S. military intervention.

Haiti's embattled president has been killed at age 53.

Hours after the arrests, the opposition nominated a supposed transitional president that no one has recognized. Opposition leaders from various political parties organized protests in the weeks leading up to Feb. 7, the day they allege that Moïse’s term ended. Haiti’s Constitution allows presidents to serve a five-year term, and opponents argue that Moïse already reached that limit. The opposition condemned the arrests and noted the judge has automatic immunity as they accused Moïse’s administration of political repression. The opposition named another Superior Court Judge, Joseph Mécène Jean-Louis, as Haiti’s supposed transitional president after Moïse announced the arrests.

Dabrézil is one of three judges that the opposition favors as a potential transitional president. André Michel, one of Haiti's top opposition leaders, held a press conference hours after the arrests and called for civil disobedience and demanded that Moïse be arrested. The arrests come on the day that opposition leaders claim Moïse should resign, saying that his term ends on Sunday. Moïse has repeatedly stated that his five-year term ends in February 2022. Former President Michel Martelly’s term ended in 2016, but a chaotic election forced the appointment of a provisional president for one year until Moïse was sworn in in 2017.

Haiti has unveiled multiple proposed changes to overhaul the countrys Constitution that officials plan to present to voters starting in Feb. 2021 for an upcoming referendum that looms amid growing unrest. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)PORT-AU-PRINCE – PORT-AU-Haiti has unveiled multiple proposed changes to overhaul the country’s Constitution that officials plan to present to voters starting this week for an upcoming referendum that looms amid growing unrest. One of the biggest changes is an omission in the draft issued by an independent commission tasked with creating the constitutional changes that have generated heated debates. Meanwhile, Brian Concannon, an adviser for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, said the proposed referendum itself is unconstitutional, according to the current Constitution. As officials meet with certain sectors of society to discuss the proposed constitutional changes, some are demanding more inclusion.

Opposition leaders are demanding Moïse’s resignation and legislative elections to restart a Parliament dissolved a year ago. They claim that Moïse’s five-year term is legally ending — that it began when former President Michel Martelly's term expired in February 2016. He also said the constitutional referendum won't give Moïse more power but said changes are needed to the 1987 document. François said he won't take part in the “circus act” of voting in the referendum or elections. “This is a country of corruption.”Moïse has faced numerous calls for resignation since taking office, with protests roiling Haiti since late 2017.