The Biden administration is no longer calling for elections in Haiti this year given the recent earthquake that devastated southern Haiti.
A senior official in the Biden administration said “We strongly support the holding of elections in Haiti as soon as they are viable” recalling that “Even before the earthquake, the pandemic and insecurity were worrying […] The policy remains that we want to ensure that Haitians can freely and fairly exercise their right to vote […] At present, the emphasis is on an immediate response to the consequences of the earthquake […] ”
Recall that a few days before the earthquake, the Provisional Electoral Council of Haiti had presented a new Calendar to the Executive which proposed a combined, Presidential, legislative and referendum ballot on November 7, 2021. A date which today now seems uncertain, a schedule that Prime Minister ai Ariel Henry had rejected.
“The earthquake could further delay the electoral process probably until early 2022,” said Georges Fauriol, expert from Haiti, senior partner at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
