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Haiti postpones voter registration for first election in a decade, no new dates given

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By Harold Isaac

PORT-AU-PRINCE, April 8 (Reuters) – Haiti’s CEP electoral council said on Wednesday it was postponing a voter registration that should have begun on April 1, adding ​it would shortly announce new dates to register for the nation’s first presidential election ‌in a decade.

The CEP previously scheduled the first round of presidential elections in the Caribbean’s most populous country for August 30, with a runoff vote in December.

However, a long-standing deterioration in security conditions ​which has forced over 1.4 million people – some 12% of the population – ​from their homes has cast doubt on the government’s ability to ⁠deliver a free and fair vote.

CEP President Jacques Desrosiers told Reuters the delay was ​due to a legal matter tied to the new government of Prime Minister Alix ​Didier Fils-Aime, and that the government must now deliver a new decree which could delay the process.

Desrosiers said if the new decree is issued on time, elections could still be held ​by the end of this year.

Desrosiers told Reuters late last year that the ​CEP had evaluated hundreds of voting centers in June, but after that access worsened as armed ‌gangs expanded ⁠their spheres of influence outside the capital to central and rural Haiti.

Haiti has not held elections since 2016. Its last president, Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021, after delaying a vote. Successive governments have been tasked with holding an election ​but have repeatedly delayed ​this, citing security ⁠concerns.

Violent armed gangs, largely grouped under a broad alliance known as Viv Ansanm, have taken control of most of the ​capital Port-au-Prince, home to over a quarter of the population ​and cemented ⁠their hold over recent years.

Viv Ansanm, which is itself seeking political recognition, has been designated a terrorist organization by Washington and is accused of mass kidnappings, gang rapes, ⁠arson, indiscriminate ​killings, and gun, organ and drug trafficking.

Last ​month, the CEP said it had approved 282 political parties to compete in the elections. It has yet ​to announce official candidates.

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