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Haiti’s ProvisionalElectoral Council finally complete after contentious process

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Haiti’s ProvisionalElectoral Council finally complete after contentious process
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PORT-AU-PRINCE— Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) is finally complete after Yves Marie Edouard and Rose Thérèse Magalie Georges were sworn in as members on Dec. 13. Their installation marks a turning point, as for the first time since the selection process started in May, the council can operate with its full complement of nine members tasked with organizing long-delayed elections.

This development follows a Dec. 4 meeting of the Council of Ministers, during which the appointments were approved by the Presidential Transition Council (CPT) and Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé’s cabinet. The appointments, however, have been overshadowed by widespread protests and criticism from political factions disputing the legitimacy of the Council’s composition.

Elections have not been held in Haiti since the late President Jovenel Moïse took office in 2017. The delays have left the country in a prolonged political crisis, with power concentrated in the hands of a few transitional leaders.

The new CEP is tasked with leading Haiti toward elections, expected to occur by the end of 2025. Edouard who represents the women’s organizations sector, and Georges, who represents human rights organizations, took office amid numerous protests, particularly from the human rights sector, which considers the decision to nominate them to have been imposed “manu military.”

Rose Thérèse Magalie Georges, representative of Haiti’s human rights sector, signed the oath during her swearing-in ceremony as a member of the Provisional Electoral Council in Pétion-Ville on Friday, December 13, 2024. Photo via Haiti’s Presidency.

The ceremony was held at the École de la Magistrature (EMA) in Pétion-Ville, a hilly suburb of southeastern Port-au-Prince. Several reporters, government officials, and representatives of civil society attended.

The CPT’s chairman, Voltaire, emphasized in his speech during the installation that the CEP is part of efforts to restore Haiti’s democratic institutions. 

He urged the electoral institution’s members to demonstrate their commitment to this mission. 

“This is a crucial step we are taking today toward the legitimacy of our institutions,” Voltaire said. “I urge the new electoral councilors to get to work with commitment and conviction to fulfill this heavy responsibility.”

Appointments were made, not without disputes and disagreements

The installation comes almost three months after the seven other members were appointed on Sept. 18, 2024. For that long, the disputes surrounding the missing representatives from the women’s and human rights sectors highlight the endemic lack of compromise among Haitian leaders and the country’s vital sectors. 

Indeed, the selection process for the nine CEP members was rather messy, tainted by disputes and finger-pointing issues. 

For instance, in the human rights sector, the tentative and aborted appointment of Gédéon Jean further divided the sector, with some rejecting the executive director of the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights (CARDH) while others supported him. In the end, Magalie Georges was nominated to replace Jean. Still, she, too, is not entirely accepted. In a letter addressed to the CPT on Dec. 6, several human rights organizations contested her choice to represent the sector, describing the process as anti-democratic.

According to those organizations, Jean’s exclusion in favor of Georges violates the Apr. 3 agreement, which serves as the transitional framework and guarantees the democratic rights of human rights organizations to be part of the nine entities forming the CEP.

“This decision by the CPT immediately constitutes a blatant violation of the democratic principles and the rule of law to which we all aspire,” the letter reads.

“This act already signals a predisposition to manipulate the announced referendum and the upcoming elections, that is, the democratic choice of Haitian citizens—the sovereign people.”

Yves Marie Edouard, a representative of Haiti’s women’s organizations, signed the oath during her swearing-in ceremony as a member of the Provisional Electoral Council in Pétion-Ville on Friday, December 13, 2024. Photo via Haiti’s Presidency.

Despite the protests, the CPT did not reverse its decisions. On Dec. 4, during a Council of Ministers meeting, it validated the names of Édouard and Georges. Now, the country knows the names of all the members of the Provisional Electoral Council, who hold part of the nation’s destiny and that of the Haitian people. Haitians dream of leaders elected through credible elections who can end the governance crisis and develop and implement a long-term security plan.

The following are the nine members comprising the new CEP:

  • Yves Marie Edouard, representative of the women’s Sector
  • Rose Thérèse Magalie Georges, representative of the human rights sector
  • Marie Florence Mathieu, representative of the university sector
  • Schnaïda Adely, representative of the Vodou sector 
  • Jacques Desrosiers, representative of journalists’ associations
  • Peterson Pierre-Louis, representative of reformed cults
  • Némrod Sanon, representative of trade unions
  • Patrick Saint-Hilaire, representative of the Episcopal Conference of Haiti (CEH)
  • Jaccéus Joseph, representative of  farmers’ associations

A CEP aims to work in the context of escalating insecurity

Haiti’s transitional authorities now score a point by forming the Provisional Electoral Council. However, many observers think that activating it to make it fully operational remains very challenging due to the country being paralyzed by armed gangs.

Despite the odds, the CEP’s completion represents a glimmer of hope for many Haitians desperate to return to democratic governance. The council’s success will depend on navigating a minefield of security threats, logistical challenges, and political resistance.

For now, the newly sworn-in members face an uphill battle to earn the public’s trust and meet the high expectations placed on their shoulders.

 “This is a crucial step we are taking today toward the legitimacy of our institutions. I urge the new electoral councilors to get to work with commitment and conviction to fulfill this heavy responsibility.”

Leslie Voltaire, Chairman of the Transitional Presidential Council

Organizing elections in a context where gang violence is wreaking havoc and has already caused the deaths of around 5,000 people this year remains unclear to most. Over 85% of the capital’s territories are controlled by criminal armed groups, leading to an alarming total of more than 700,000 people displaced across the country.

Since taking office three months ago, the only action taken by the CEP in preparation for the elections was an assessment of electoral infrastructure and decentralized structures, particularly in the North, Northeast, Center, and Upper Artibonite departments during a tour from Dec. 6 to 11.

In a statement dated Dec. 8, the electoral councilors confirmed that they had conducted an inventory of the departmental electoral offices (BED) and the communal electoral offices (BEC) in those regions. The goal was to assess the buildings’ physical condition, equipment availability, and the needs of these structures to make them functional.

“The data collected will guide the Council in budget forecasts and decision-making aimed at strengthening decentralized structures,” said the electoral councilors. “Furthermore, the Provisional Electoral Council plans to revitalize the staff of the BED and BEC in preparation for the referendum and general elections.”

A weakened CPT set up the CEP amid the indictments of three councilors 

In addition to the influence of armed gangs, the corruption scandal involving three members of the Transitional Presidential Council — Louis Gerald Gilles, Emmanuel Vertilaire, and Smith Augustin — has weakened the transition period. Following a report from Haiti’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC), Judge Benjamin Félismé of the Port-au-Prince jurisdiction charged the three councilors and summoned them to appear before the court.

After this new development in the case, political sectors, particularly those represented by the indicted individuals, called for their representatives to resign. However, these parties have lost control over their representatives, who refuse to step down despite their names being linked to corruption cases.

Indeed, the RED/EDE political coalition abandoned Augustin, and Pitit Dessaline turned its back on Vertilaire, while the December 21 Agreement left Gilles behind. This situation hinders the progress of the CPT, which is supposed to hand over power to duly elected officials on Feb. 7, 2026.

In a positioning note signed by these parties on Dec. 13, they highlight that the presence of the three counselors sends a negative image of the country’s executive branch of government.

“The presence, with the complicity of their peers within the CPT, of the three indicted Counselors-Presidents […] undermines the actions taken by the executive,” said the signatories of the statement.

They highlight several other actions by the CPT that should draw attention to the threat facing the transition. Among these actions, they point out the legitimate disputes regarding the formation of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), the controversies surrounding the establishment of the Steering Committee for the National Conference, and the formation of a body tasked with working on constitutional reforms.

Signatories of  the April 3 Agreement call to save the transition

The parties that signed the consensus establishing the framework within which the presidential council functions believe that, to save the transition, the CPT members not involved in the corruption scandal must remove the three indicted councilors and invite the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) again to initiate talks between the six remaining members to ease the crisis. Additionally, political parties urge the Haitian signatory actors to acknowledge the non-implementation of the April 3 Agreement and work toward achieving a broad consensus for stable governance, ensuring peace in Haiti.

In a note dated Dec. 12, the political party Fanmi Lavalas, led by former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, also criticized the council members for mismanaging the transition after Voltaire, its representative, took charge of the CPT.

Fanmi Lavalas observes the failure of the CPT after eight months of its establishment, particularly in the face of increasing insecurity, poverty, and a lack of respect for the April 3 Agreement.

“The promises of change by the CPT and the government in the structures of the state, such as the autonomous general directorates and local authorities aimed at serving the population, have never materialized. The promises have turned into despair,” the statement reads. “The TPC and the government show no sensitivity or ability to address the urgent needs of the population.”

The post Haiti’s ProvisionalElectoral Council finally complete after contentious process appeared first on The Haitian Times.


Haiti’s ProvisionalElectoral Council finally complete after contentious process was first posted on December 14, 2024 at 4:26 pm.

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