PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 17 (Reuters) - Haiti's lower house of Parliament on Thursday ratified President Rene Preval's third choice for prime minister, bringing the impoverished country a step closer to replacing a government dismissed three months ago over violent food protests.

By a vote of 61-1, with 20 abstentions, the lawmakers approved the nomination of economist Michele Pierre-Louis, director of FOKAL, a foundation that provides libraries, youth education programs and women's networks. It is supported by George Soros' Open Society Institute.

Pierre-Louis' nomination has still to pass the Senate.

Two previous nominations for prime minister were rejected by lawmakers, hampering Preval's efforts to bring the Caribbean country onto a path to stable democracy after decades of turmoil, military dictatorships and bloodshed.

Preval's last prime minister, Jacques Edouard Alexis, was fired by the Senate in April after riots over soaring food prices and living costs killed at least seven people. (Reporting by Joseph Guyler Delva, Editing by Michael Christie)

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