Photo credit: The Hill
Armed gangs are making any hope for a full and stable election impossible in Haiti.
Asia One reports that the country has not held elections since 2016. Its last president was assassinated in 2021. The gangs have since taken control of much of the capital and the surrounding areas.
The electoral council in June conducted an evaluation of hundreds of voting centres around the country. However, many communes were inaccessible due to the insecurity. access has since worsened as gangs have expanded in areas outside the capital.
At the start of the year, the interim government had said it planned for elections to take place around November 15 of this year.
The UN, referring to the June evaluation, said that just over six million people might have access to working in voting centres.
The transition council, which took power in April 2024, will end its tenure on February 7. However, that date is traditionally marked the constitutional deadline for handing over power, and is often met with protests, as it has been flouted in the past by leaders refusing to step aside.
The country’s political groupings are divided over how to move forward. Some are calling for an extension or modification of the interim presidential council while others are asking for it to step aside in favour of a Supreme Court judge.
