Port-au-Prince  - Haitian President Rene Preval's nominee for prime minister, Ericq Pierre, failed to gain parlimentary support.

On Monday, 51 representatives voted against Pierre with only 35 for the appointment and 9 abstentions, according to the local press agency Haiti Press.

Preval must now look for a new candidate for prime minister.

Pierre won a majority in the Senate on May 7. He was to replace former prime minister Jacques Edouard Alexis, who was dismissed in mid-April when the Senate blamed him for failing to find a solution to the food crisis in the poorest country of the Americas.

Violent reaction to the increasing cost of food in Haiti has resulted in six deaths. (dpa)