The third nominee Garry Conille (pictured above) received Senate approval after prolonged debate. (Photo: garyconille.com)

U.N. development expert Garry Conille has been approved by the Haitian Senate as the country’s Prime Minister, after more than eight hours of debate over his residency qualifications.

Senators voted 17-3 with nine abstentions for the 45-year-old ex-aide to former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Members from a majority coalition agreed Conille, whose job took him out of the country for long periods, was eligible, though Haitian law requires that government officials spend five consecutive years in the country.

Legislators had rejected the president’s two previous candidates – businessman Daniel-Gerard Rouzier and legal scholar Bernard Gousse.

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