Haiti has indefinitely postponed presidential and legislative elections originally scheduled for December, officials announced Tuesday, citing the severe gang violence that has paralyzed the nation for years. The Caribbean country has not held a national vote since 2016, and the presidency has remained vacant since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) confirmed that the first round, set for December 13, and a runoff scheduled for February 21, 2027, are no longer viable. In a statement, the council said the electoral calendar “will be made public as soon as possible” once technical, operational, and security requirements are met. Voter registration, which began on July 20, will continue in the interim.
An electoral council member, speaking anonymously to AFP, confirmed the December date “no longer stands” and said a new timetable is under development. As of Tuesday, only 769,000 voters had been registered—a fraction of the electorate in a country of roughly 11 million.
The postponement deals a blow to international and domestic hopes that elections would restore democratic legitimacy and help stabilize a government struggling to contain rampant criminality. “Who can claim to hold elections in a country where citizens are more concerned about insecurity and the abuses by armed groups?” asked Davidson Jean Baptiste, a taxi driver in Port-au-Prince.
Others expressed frustration at the prolonged democratic vacuum. “The people have been long kept out of the political debate,” said Claudette Piard at a registration center in Delmas. “We finally want to vote for a government that will bring solutions to the masses.”
Engulfed by Violence
The poorest nation in the Americas, Haiti faces a compounding political, economic, and security crisis. In recent years, gangs have intensified killings, kidnappings, sexual violence, and child recruitment. According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 1.5 million people are internally displaced, with violence spreading well beyond the capital.
The security breakdown has created immense logistical hurdles for electoral organizers. Several municipalities under gang control lacked registration centers, while road blockades prevented the delivery of voting materials to large swaths of the country.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk reported last week that at least 5,700 people have been killed or wounded this year, while over 1,000 women and girls have been raped. The UN mission documented 230 kidnappings through September 11, though Türk warned the actual toll is likely far higher.
A UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) is gradually deploying to support the overwhelmed national police. The mission is authorized for 5,500 personnel but currently fields only about 1,500. The GSF replaced a Kenya-led multinational force that was widely viewed as under-resourced.
Late last month, the UN Security Council extended the GSF mandate by six months, stressing “the importance of ensuring security conditions conducive to holding free and fair elections.”
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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