Haitian Elections Postponed Once Again

Amid a political and electoral crisis, Haiti’s twice-postponed presidential elections will not be held at the end of the month as previously scheduled, said Leopold Berlanger, head of the country’s Provisional Electoral Council, on April 5. During a press conference held last week, Berlanger told reporters that council members “inherited a crisis” and cannot look at the electoral calendar until multiple challenges are addressed.

The runoff elections, which were originally scheduled for December 27, were postponed to January and then April amid violent protests and allegations of electoral fraud. A political accord signed on February 5 forced former president Michel Martelly to step down with no elected successor and established an interim government until elections scheduled for April 24th.

“You have to understand what malfunction [the electoral machinery] has, and what needs to be done to fix it before the second [round] can take off,” Berlanger said. Of the 140 municipal elections that were held on October 25 alongside the presidential first round and legislative runoffs, 81 are being contested, he continued. “That is something grave,” Berlanger added. “It shows the process is sick.”

Official results showed that Jovenel Moïse, former president Michel Martelly’s hand-picked successor, garnered 32.76 percent of votes, placing him above opposition leader Jude Célestin, who had 25.29 percent of votes.

Meanwhile, the Haitian opposition contends that a complete and independent inquiry into the fraud allegations is the only way Haiti can rise above the political crisis and transfer power to an elected president. But Moïse’s PHTK party, U.S. officials, and others in the international community have publicly opposed verification and are urging Haiti’s provisional President Jocelerme Privert to quickly resume the electoral process.

In response, sixty Haitian-American leaders published a letter calling on the Obama administration to end its opposition to the verification process in Haiti. “We believe that the Department [of State]’s positions to date have undermined Haiti’s democracy while harming the United States’ credibility in Haiti,” the letter says.

Despite the opposition’s worries, Interim Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles assured that the interim government will elect a president as soon as they can. “We can give the guarantee that we won’t do anything to try to remain in power longer than necessary,” Jean-Charles said.