Haitians could vote for new head of state in October

Maybe second time is the charm. Espero.


http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Haitians-could-vote-for-new-head-of-state-in-October_63165

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) ? The nine members of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) Saturday held talks with officials of the major political parties here amid widespread speculation that presidential elections could take place on October 9.

According to informed sources, the CEP has indicated a willingness to publish an electoral calendar next week, as early as Monday outlining the dates for the presidential elections.

The sources said that the first round will be held on October 9 and if a candidate does not receive the necessary number of votes to prevent a second round, then that will take place on January 8, 2017 and the final election results will be published January 30, next year.

Media reports here said that Interim President Jocelerme Privert, who was in Cuba attending the summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), told his Dominican Republic counterpart, Danilo Medina, that the poll will be held in October.


He said it ?should take place on October 9? and that based on the information he has, ?from the date of publication of the electoral calendar, CEP needs 90 to 120 days to organise elections?.

The October elections would also include voting for one-third of the Senate.

During the meeting on Saturday, party officials were informed that the presidential race, which fielded 54 candidates, will not be re-opened to accommodate any new candidates and the current 54 will have until June 27 to confirm their participation in the election.

Gerald Germain, spokesman for Jude Celestin, who placed second in the October 25 presidential election, said his candidate agrees with the timetable and the CEP?s proposal.

?We?ve always contended that the October. 25 elections were not elections,? he said.

The winner of the October poll, Jovenel Moise, has already sen the verification report regarding the election, calling it unconstitutional and illegal.

Haiti has been without an elected head of state ever since President Michel Martelly left office in February.

It would be more desirable to report an EU response to individual irregularities, instead of dismissing incidents as usual chaos of elections. Granted, it was close to a miracle for Haiti to have an election at all.



The European Union said Wednesday it is ending its election observation mission in Haiti, calling the decision to cancel last fall's election results unjustified.

European Commission Vice President Federica Mogherini announced the decision to pull out of the island nation in a statement, saying that "the conditions were not met for the continuation of its activities in Haiti."

Haiti annulled last year's controversial first-round presidential election results on the recommendation of an independent commission that found fraud had tainted the vote.

In another EU statement released Wednesday, the head of the EU observer mission, Elena Valenciano, said the work of Haiti's independent commission "had many factual, legal, methodological and conceptual weaknesses."

She added in her statement that, according to the findings of European observers, the 2015 elections "were generally in line with international standards, despite some flaws and irregularities, and not likely to affect the overall results."

The United States, a major aid donor to Haiti, also expressed disappointment Wednesday that Haitian authorities opted to cancel the results and schedule a re-run.

"The Haitian people deserve to have their voices heard, not deferred," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner, arguing that the October 25 results should stand.

Local activists often accuse the US of picking sides in Haiti's chaotic political scene.

The October 25, 2015 poll results were widely disputed by the opposition, who condemned the vote as an "electoral coup" in favor of the party of then-president Michel Martelly.

Martelly's hand-picked candidate Jovenel Moise won with 32.76 percent of the vote against Jude Celestin's 25.29 percent.

Initially set for December 27, 2015, the runoff was postponed twice as protests broke out. An interim government replaced Martelly after he departed in February without a successor.

In an attempt to overcome political crisis the independent evaluation committee studied electoral documents for a month, concluding in late May that the vote should be cancelled. The commission's president Francois Benoit said it was impossible to trace the origin of 40 percent of the ballots.

More than seven months after the initial poll, the Provisional Electoral Council announced Monday a new electoral timetable, setting the first round for October 9 and the second for January 8, 2017.

The EU initially deployed its mission to the island nation in July 2015 at the invitation of Haitian authorities.

The observation mission's statement echoes much of the international community's reservations concerning Haiti's decision.

Representatives from Western countries and the UN worry that an election re-run will have serious financial consequences for the poorest country in the Americas.