Sept 18 (Askume) – Haiti’s government established a provisional election committee on Wednesday, the latest concrete step toward reviving the electoral process after years of failure marred by political instability and violence.
The Caribbean country plans to hold elections in 2026, the last elections were held in 2016.
Normally, elections are held every five years, but Haiti’s already difficult political situation has been made worse by the power vacuum created by the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, and the country has been without a president since then.
Armed groups already control about 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and much of the country.
The committee formed on Wednesday already has seven seats representing religious groups, journalists, farmers and trade unions, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Two other seats, one for human rights groups and another for women’s rights groups, still lack representation, the office said at the X meeting.
The committee is tasked with developing the legal framework for holding the elections and then planning them.
Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council – an independent body that has been acting as a government since its establishment in April – established the electoral committee at a meeting. The presidential council’s term will expire in February 2026, when elections must be held.
The former electoral commission was dissolved in 2021 and Prime Minister Ariel Henry took over after Moise’s death, but was removed from office earlier this year after leaving Haiti on an international security mission and being unable to re-enter .
Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the prime minister. In May, the interim government appointed Gary Connelly as prime minister.
However, both committees face an uphill battle to bring stability to Haiti.
So far, only Kenya and Jamaica have deployed troops to Haiti as part of a UN-backed anti-gang operation, which is due to expire in early October unless it is renewed at the end of the month.
The draft resolution states that the mission could also be converted into a formal United Nations peacekeeping operation , which would ensure the mission’s funding and longevity.
