HAITI’S transitionary council signed an “illegal” decree on Sunday sacking unelected interim prime minister Garry Conille and replacing him with business leader Alix Didier Fils-Aime.

Mr Conille’s dismissal brought even more turmoil to an already rocky democratic transition for Haiti, which hasn’t held democratic elections for years.

Mr Fils-Aime is a former president of Haiti’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry and in 2015 ran an unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the Senate. 

He is known to have strong links to the United States and was considered for the premiership as a private-sector candidate before Mr Conille’s appointment.

Mr Conille, a long-standing civil servant who has worked with the United Nations, was prime minister for only six months.

There was no immediate comment from him or his office, but his sacking attracted criticism from some in Haiti.

Former justice minister Bernard Gousse told local media that the dismissal was “illegal” because the council was overextending its powers and because of corruption allegations levelled against its members.

In October, investigators accused three members of the council of demanding $750,000 (around £573,000) in bribes from a government bank director to secure his job.

The three, Smith Augustin, Emmanuel Vertilaire and Louis Gerald Gilles, were among those who signed the decree sacking Mr Conille. Only one member of the council, Edgard Leblanc Fils, did not endorse it.

The transitional presidential council was established in April with US support and tasked with choosing the next prime minister and cabinet in the hope that it would help quell turmoil in Haiti. 

However the council has been at odds with Mr Conille since his appointment. 

Organisations such as the Organisation of American States made unsuccesful efforts at mediation last week, according to the Miami Herald.