Haiti – Planning Process to Hold Elections Has Begun

2026-03-03 - 13:36

The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) announced that it had begun registering political parties, groups, and other stakeholders as the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country gets ready for presidential elections last held here in 2016. The CEP said that the registration process would continue until March 12 this year in accordance with Article 143 of the Electoral Decree of December 1, 2025. It said that official representatives of political organizations are invited to appear at the CEP central office with all documents required by the Electoral Decree, within the allotted time. These include notarized articles of incorporation of the political party, the act of recognition of the political party, party statutes, and minutes of the most recent general assembly or the minutes of the most recent congress appointing the party’s executive committee. With regards to political party groups or alliances, they must submit notarized articles of incorporation of the political group or alliance, its statutes, and its objectives, as well as the list of parties that have signed a notarized agreement for the political party group or alliance. In addition, a document stating an agreement between the parties regarding the use of a single emblem for the political party group or alliance has to be provided, as well as minutes of the most recent general assembly or congress appointing the executive committee of each party belonging to the political party group or alliance. Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimè recently told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that he remains confident that elections will take place by year’s end. The last presidential election took place in 2016 when Jovenel Moise was elected to office, but he was assassinated at his private residence overlooking the capital in July 2021. Since then, an interim government has been in office, and since April 2024, Haiti has held no national elections. Fils-Aimè, who was among Caricom leaders meeting in St Kitts and Nevis last week for their 50th regular summit, said that the country is “moving forward and “ we just had an important milestone, which I think it is something that people did not think would not happen where most political parties, especially the major ones signed an accord for the stability and to ensure that we are all going into the elections together”. He said that his message to his Caricom colleagues is that “we are heading to the elections, we have found an agreement between Haitians, and we have decided that we are moving forward. “Elections will be held as soon as we get all the security necessary. We are expecting that by the end of the year, we will be ready to host the first round of the elections,” he told CMC. During the four-day summit, the Caricom appointed Eminent Persons Group (EPG), chaired by the former St Lucia prime minister, Dr Kenny Anthony, submitted a report on the status of the recent political developments in Haiti and on the security and humanitarian situation. Caricom chairman and St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew said that the EPG members expressed their “deep appreciation” to the government of Kenya for its “unhesitating willingness to take on leadership of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, which has now transitioned to the Gang Suppression Force (GSF)” authorized by the United Nations Security Council. “They commended the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) for their wise and strategic facilitatory role under Caricom’s Good Offices support to Haiti,” Drew said, adding that the regional leaders “reiterated Caricom’s firm commitment to the restoration of peace and stability in Haiti and expressed support for the framework for improving security and holding of elections put forward by the prime minister of Haiti”. CMC