Port-au-Prince  - Hatitian President Rene Preval has put forward a woman, Michele Duvivier Pierre Louis, as a candidate for prime minister, after Congress refused to accept his two previous nominees.

Senate Speaker Kelly Bastien said Tuesday that legislators will evaluate the economist's credentials to see whether she fulfils the requirements.

Pierre Louis, 61, is very close to Preval and has since 1995 led the nongovernmental organization Fokal, which establishes libraries and provides assistance to young people and women in the troubled Caribbean country.

Previously, Preval had nominated Ericq Pierre, a former official of the Inter-American Development Bank, and presidential advisor Robert Manuel. Congress rejected both men, arguing that they did not fulfil the requirements established by law.

The delay in the appointment of a prime minister after Jacques- Edouard Alexis was sacked two months ago over rising food prices that led to riots has attracted criticism, including from diplomats stationed in Haiti.

The delay has added an extra hurdle to international cooperation projects seeking to alleviate the social and economic crisis in the poorest country in the Americas. (dpa)