20 April 2016
Volume 39, Number 15
Haiti will not meet its April 24 deadline to complete its second round run-off presidential election according to the President of its Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), Leopold Berlanger. Although no new date has yet been announced, Mr Berlanger has suggested that a new electoral timetable will be ready by the end of May.
The election was postponed in January after escalating protests and allegations of fraud in the first round. The fresh delay means that the interim President, Jocelerme Privert, will not now hand over to an elected successor on May 14, as had been previously agreed (Caribbean Insight January 6, 2016 and February 17, 2016).
The results of the first round of election last in October 2015 placed Jovenel Moise in first place and Jude Celestin in second for a runoff, but Mr Celestin and other losing candidates had rejected the outcome alleging fraud.
The new delays have led to protests from supporters of the former president Michel Martelly and his party’s favoured candidate, Mr Moise. They have alleged that the interim president Mr Privert is delaying so that his allies can hold on to power.
In a statement on April 18, Mr Berlanger stressed that that there was much work to be corrected before fresh elections and said that the members of the Verification Commission who have 30 days to submit a report on the outcome of the first round still had to be confirmed by Decree.
Speaking after a meeting the same day with the members of the CEP, Sandra Honore, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General of the UN, said that her wish was that all stakeholders work for the success of these elections, that they provide the country with an elected president, and they will be used to create a framework for continuous socio-economic development of the country.
Speaking about the February 5 Agreement on the now delayed timetable for elections, Ms Honore said that the message to those who will implement this Agreement “is to find a way to achieve consensus positions and demonstrate their commitment to acting in the interests of the Haitian people and in the best interests of Haiti as a nation”.
This is an extract from the Caribbean Council’s leading weekly editorially independent publication, Caribbean Insight, which provides in depth information on current economic, political and commercial developments in the Caribbean and news on events in Europe and the US that affect the region. Business people, academics, and those with a general interest in the Caribbean find it an invaluable tool for developing and maintaining knowledge and providing an insight into political, economic and commercial events in the region.
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