Haiti Indefinitely Postpones Its First Elections in a Decade as Gangs Block Voter Registration

Haiti's long-awaited return to the ballot box has been pushed back again, this time with no new date.

The country's Provisional Electoral Council said this week that it was postponing the campaign period and the early stages of the electoral process. That effectively shelves the first round of presidential and legislative elections planned for Dec. 13 and the runoff set for Feb. 21, 2027. In its statement, quoted by AFP, the council said the new timetable "will be made public as soon as possible" and would reflect the "technical and operational requirements of the process."

A council member who spoke to AFP anonymously said that "the December 13 date no longer stands."

Ten years without a vote

Haiti has not held national elections since 2016, and the presidency has stayed empty since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in 2021. UPI noted that the latest delay puts the country on track to go a full decade without a national vote. The elections were meant to fill the presidency along with all seats in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, plus departmental and municipal posts, according to Anadolu Agency.

The council said the changes followed consultations with political groups and amendments to the electoral decree that the Council of Ministers adopted on Oct. 5. It extended the deadline for candidates to register and file documents to Oct. 31, and it says voter registration is continuing.

Gangs stand in the way

Armed groups are the biggest obstacle. According to the electoral council's figures, reported by AFP, fewer than 800,000 people have registered out of roughly 7 million Haitians of voting age. Several gang-controlled municipalities have no registration centers at all, and gang threats have closed roads that are needed to deliver election materials.

The violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people in a country of about 11 million, according to an International Organization for Migration estimate cited by AFP. UN human rights chief Volker Türk said in early October that at least 5,700 people had been killed or injured since the start of the year.

A UN-backed Gang Suppression Force is being formed to support Haiti's overstretched police. It was planned at 5,500 uniformed personnel, but U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz has said only about 1,500 military personnel are on the ground, AFP reported.

In Port-au-Prince, a motorcycle taxi driver told AFP he "didn't have much hope" of voting this year, given how worried people are about armed groups.