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Port-au-Prince, September 20, 2024 – The Clarity Times: Haiti has established a new Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to organize long-overdue presidential and legislative elections, anticipated by 2026. This development comes less than two weeks after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Port-au-Prince, urging Haiti’s provisional government to expedite the electoral process. Blinken emphasized that setting up an electoral council was a “critical next step” in restoring democracy.
The CEP, validated by the Council of Ministers, currently has seven of the nine required members, representing various societal groups, with the final two expected to be appointed soon. The last presidential elections in Haiti took place in 2016 when Jovenel Moïse of the Tèt Kale party won a five-year term. Since Moise’s assassination by Colombian mercenaries in July 2021, the presidency has remained vacant.
In the interim, Haiti was governed by Ariel Henry, whom Moïse had appointed as prime minister shortly before his death. However, after gangs seized the international airport in Port-au-Prince during Henry’s absence in February 2024, he resigned in April amid growing unrest. A transitional presidential council (TPC) was formed to lead the country until elections can be held, appointing Garry Conille as interim prime minister to oversee the transition.
The establishment of the CEP is seen as a crucial step toward stabilizing the nation and restoring democratic governance.
