OAS urges Haiti to bar candidates tied to criminal groups as filings open 

PORT-AU-PRINCE — The Organization of American States (OAS) is calling for people with ties to criminal organizations to be excluded from Haiti’s upcoming elections, putting candidate eligibility under scrutiny as the country begins receiving election filings.

During a virtual press conference Sept. 12 with media outlets across the Caribbean, OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin said people with ties to criminal organizations should not participate in Haiti’s elections.

“No person with ties to criminal organizations should be allowed to participate in the elections,” Ramdin said. “If we know precisely which candidates are concerned, we will then be able to fully assess the impact of their ties to criminal organizations.”

Ramdin’s comments came as Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council(CEP) began receiving candidate documents for the Dec. 13 presidential, legislative and local elections. The filing period runs through Sept. 22. The CEP confirmed that candidate document submissions began Sept. 13.

The OAS position raises questions about how Haiti’s current electoral rules would treat candidates suspected of links to criminal organizations.

Under the electoral decree issued June 2 and amended in July, Haiti’s eligibility rules include provisions concerning people subject to United Nations sanctions. The decree does not use the same broad language as Ramdin’s call about people with ties to criminal organizations.

That distinction is significant. An allegation that a candidate has ties to a criminal organization is not necessarily the same as being formally designated under the U.N. sanctions regime, as the electoral decree puts it.

OAS call puts candidate eligibility under scrutiny

The OAS position draws renewed attention to Haitian political and business figures who have faced international sanctions or allegations involving armed groups, drug trafficking, corruption or other criminal activity.

Among those previously sanctioned by international governments are former President Michel Joseph Martelly; former Prime Ministers Jean-Henry Céant and Laurent Lamothe; former senators Youri Latortue, Joseph Lambert, Nenel Cassy and Rony Célestin; former ministers Berto Dorcé and Liszt Quitel; and businessmen Reynold Deeb and Gilbert Bigio.

Those cases do not necessarily mean the individuals would face the same treatment under Haiti’s current electoral rules. Candidate eligibility would depend on the applicable Haitian law and any determinations made by the competent electoral authorities.

The U.N. Security Council’s Haiti sanctions regime currently lists nine individuals and two entities. The individuals include gang leaders Jimmy Chérizier, Johnson André, Renel Destina, Wilson Joseph, Vitelhomme Innocent, Kempes Sanon and Luckson Elan, as well as former lawmaker Prophane Victor and Dimitri Hérard, a former head of security at the National Palace.

The U.N. sanctions regime imposes measures including travel bans, asset freezes and a targeted arms embargo against designated individuals and entities. Its listing criteria cover activities including criminal activity and violence involving armed groups and criminal networks, illicit trafficking and financing, human rights abuses and other actions that threaten Haiti’s peace, security or stability.

Security also affects where candidates file

The OAS call comes as the CEP is adapting the mechanics of candidate registration because of Haiti’s security crisis.

Candidates in 19 communes affected by insecurity cannot submit their documents through their local electoral offices. The CEP has directed some candidates for deputy and local government positions to submit their declarations directly to departmental electoral offices instead.

The CEP said the changes are intended to keep the electoral process moving despite security-related constraints. Its filing notice sets Sept. 13-22 as the period for submitting documents and completing candidacy declarations.

The two issues — candidate eligibility and security — add to the challenges facing the electoral process as the CEP prepares for the Dec. 13 vote.

The CEP has not publicly detailed a separate procedure for excluding a candidate solely on the basis of alleged ties to a criminal organization.

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