Haiti: Deal reached on provisional Haiti government | Associated Press

Top Haitian leaders negotiated an agreement to install a short-term provisional government less than 24 hours before President Michel Martelly was scheduled to step down, an official with the Organization of American States and local authorities announced Saturday. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, special OAS mission leader Ronald Sanders said the interim president will be elected by Parliament for a term of up to 120 days. He said Prime Minister Evans Paul will remain in his position until lawmakers are able to confirm a prime minister by consensus in upcoming days. The caretaker government will ensure a new Provisional Electoral Council is in place to conclude an election cycle that began last year. The plan calls for a presidential and legislative runoff to be held on April 24, with a newly elected president to be installed on May 14 for a five-year term. “The country now has an opportunity for a fresh start,” Sanders said, adding that Parliament would invite nominations for an interim president soon.

Haiti: Martelly vows to leave power on Sunday as protests intensify | Reuters

Haiti’s president promised on Thursday to leave power in three days’ time despite having no replacement after a botched election, as opposition protests intensified and politicians squabbled over who should lead an interim government. President Michel Martelly had earlier warned he would not step aside without an established succession plan, enraging protesters who have marched almost daily in the capital Port-au-Prince over the past two weeks. Haiti’s constitution requires Martelly to leave office on Feb. 7, but runoff elections to choose the next president were canceled last month when opposition candidate Jude Celestin threatened to boycott the vote and protests turned violent.

Haiti: Protesters take to the street to protest country’s election process | PBS

Haiti’s current president is supposed to leave office on Sunday, but there is no one to take his place. Haitians have been protesting all week against the nation’s electoral process after disputed elections in the fall saw current President Michel Martelly’s chosen successor take the lead. The Caribbean island held presidential elections on Oct. 25, 2015. Since no candidate won a majority of the vote, a run-off election was scheduled for Dec. 27. In the first round, Banana exporter Jovenel Moise and mechanical engineer Jude Celestin won most of the votes at 32.8 percent and 25.3 percent, respectively. Moise is Martelly’s chosen successor. More than 50 others ran for the nation’s top post. The runoff was postponed several times due to protests — which sometimes turned violent — against what the opposition called fraud in the first election.

Haiti: Opposition rejects president’s plan for interim government | Reuters

Haiti’s opposition on Tuesday rejected a proposal by outgoing President Michel Martelly to form a temporary government to organize elections, after a run-off presidential vote was canceled last month amid violence and allegations of fraud. Martelly, who heads Haiti’s government, is due to leave office on Sunday. A Jan. 24 run-off to choose his successor was canceled after sometimes violent protests erupted against what the opposition said was fraud in the first round. Under a proposal drawn up by Martelly and parliamentary leaders, Prime Minister Evans Paul would resign and be replaced by a candidate to be approved by parliament, government-allied lawmaker Gary Bodeau said.

Haiti: Opposition Alliance Declining to Meet With OAS Mission | Associated Press

A Haitian opposition alliance is declining to meet with a regional mission that traveled to this troubled Caribbean nation to help ease a political crisis that has postponed elections indefinitely. Samuel Madistin, spokesman for the “Group of Eight” that includes second-place presidential candidate Jude Celestin, asserted Monday that the Organization of American States’ mission was “not welcome” and was “unable to play any role as a mediator. The OAS doesn’t help Haiti come out of crisis. They create more crisis,” Madistin said, pointing to its role in 2010 elections that saw Celestin get eliminated from a runoff after his reported second-place finish was challenged by foreign observers complaining of irregularities.

Haiti: Growing crisis as election chief resigns | AFP

The chairman of Haiti’s electoral council has submitted his resignation to President Michel Martelly, a week after presidential and legislative elections were indefinitely delayed. Pierre-Louis Opont said in a letter dated Thursday that events beyond his control had “prevented me from carrying out my mission, which was to conduct elections meant to permit Parliament to return on January 11, 2016 and an elected president to be installed on February 7, 2016.” Opont’s resignation, following that of four of nine other members of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), renders the panel impotent.

Haiti: After canceling its presidential election, Haiti heads toward chaos | The Washington Post

Before he went into politics, Haitian President Michel Martelly was a nationally renowned pop star whose stage antics included mooning his adoring fans. As president, Mr. Martelly, whose five years in office are drawing to a close, has treated his constituents, Haiti’s 10 million citizens, with no more dignity or respect. Mr. Martelly is largely to blame for having led the country into electoral and political chaos, with no prospect of electing a successor to replace him by Feb. 7, as the Haitian constitution requires. Having governed as a virtual autocrat for much of his term, as a consequence of failing to hold timely elections to replace term-limited local officials and members of parliament, Mr. Martelly was instrumental in creating the conditions for a shambolic first round of presidential elections, in October.

Haiti: Chaos and compas | The Economist

Michel Martelly, Haiti’s president, had planned to mark the end of his term in office by going back to his old job as a popular singer of compas, a Haitian form of merengue. The idea was to perform once more as “Sweet Micky” at the Carnival in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, which begins on February 7th, the day he is due to step down as president. The problem is that there is no one to succeed him. The second round of the presidential election, scheduled for January 24th after two postponements, was called off two days before the vote. Jude Célestin, the runner-up in the first round of voting in October, had condemned the ballot as a “ridiculous farce” and refused to campaign further. Thousands of his supporters, and those of candidates who lost in the first round, took to the streets to demand that the run-off be cancelled. Haiti’s electoral council said the danger of violence was too great for it to go ahead.

Haiti: Leadership is in limbo as political crisis looms | Los Angeles Times

With Haiti’s presidential elections postponed again and just over a week left until the current leader’s term expires, various political factions are negotiating to avert a constitutional crisis that could leave the Western hemisphere’s poorest nation with nobody clearly in charge. The vote was supposed to occur last Sunday, but election authorities last week postponed it indefinitely due to security concerns, including attacks that had occurred on election offices. It was the third time the vote — a runoff originally scheduled for Dec. 27 — has been delayed. President Michel Martelly must leave office by Feb. 7. The crisis threatens to throw the poor and troubled Caribbean country back into the instability and political morass that it has long struggled against.

Haiti: After election collapse, Haiti edges toward interim government | Reuters

President Michel Martelly is determined to leave office on the first day of Haiti’s carnival in two weeks even though he has no replacement, the prime minister said on Monday, making it likely an interim government will guide the country to elections. Haiti was due to choose Martelly’s replacement last Sunday, but the two-man race was postponed indefinitely after opposition candidate Jude Celestin refused to participate over alleged fraud that sparked protests and violence. “It is clear that we won’t have elections before the departure of President Michel Martelly scheduled for Feb. 7,” Prime Minister Evans Paul said.

Haiti: Presidential election cancelled as violence erupts | Associated Press

Haiti has called off its presidential election just two days before it was due to take place over concerns of escalating violence sparked by the opposition candidate’s refusal to take part in a vote he said was riddled with fraud. The Provisional Electoral Council decided to postpone the runoff because there is “too much violence throughout the country,” council president Pierre-Louis Opont said at a news conference. In recent days, a number of election offices across the impoverished nation have been burned and the capital has been rocked by violent opposition protests calling for a halt to the vote. The council did not set a new date for the vote. It also did not say whether an interim government would take power after 7 February, when president Michel Martelly is required to leave office under the Constitution, or if he would remain until a replacement is elected.

Haiti: U.S. Presses for Haiti Runoff Vote Amid Fears of Violence and Fraud | The New York Times

After spending more than $33 million on a widely discredited election in Haiti, the United States has been pressing the country’s leaders to go ahead with a presidential runoff election this Sunday, despite a growing chorus of warnings that the vote could lead to an explosion of violence. Haitian leaders, political parties and others have denounced the first round of voting in October as a fraud-riddled fiasco and protested in the streets to stop the runoff. One of the two remaining candidates says he is boycotting, effectively making it a one-person race. President Michel J. Martelly took to the airwaves on Thursday to warn that protests on Election Day would not be tolerated. Civic, business and religious leaders are engaged in tense back-room negotiations to broker a deal in an effort to avoid violence and put off the race. Eight election observer organizations have pulled out over the fraud accusations and chaos, including a Haitian group funded by the United States.

Haiti: Senate calls for a halt to Sunday presidential runoff | Miami Herald

Haiti’s Senate on Wednesday called on the country’s Provisional Electoral Council to cease all operations for Sunday’s presidential and partial legislative runoffs. The recommendation came after three hours of debate and as concern and uncertainty continue to dog the electoral process four days before the critical vote. A coalition of local observers have announced that they won’t participate, and the private sector has signaled its strong misgivings about the holding of the second round on Sunday. Before the Senate meeting, a group of business leaders from the Haitian-American Chamber met with senators, and soon went to meet with opposition presidential candidate Jude Celestin. Joined by other business leaders, they asked Celestin whether he was willing to sign an agreement negotiated by Roman Catholic Church Cardinal Chibly Langlois that would postpone the vote until next month and a new president’s swearing-in by March 29. President Michel Martely and his hand-picked successor, candidate Jovenel Moïse, have also been presented with the same question, sources familiar with the agreement said.

Haiti: Protesters vow to derail presidential vote; election offices burned | Reuters

Stone-throwing protesters took to the streets of Haiti’s capital on Monday to demand the suspension of a Jan. 24 presidential election over alleged irregularities, while in provincial areas unknown attackers burned several electoral offices. Haiti is due to hold a run-off vote backed by international donors on Sunday, but tensions have risen since opposition candidate Jude Celestin said last week he would withdraw, on grounds that electoral authorities favored the ruling party. Swiss-trained engineer Celestin, 53, came second in an October first round in the poor Caribbean nation, beaten by banana exporter Jovenel Moise, 47, the ruling party candidate.

Haiti: Several election offices attacked in Haiti as runoff nears | Associated Press

Stone-throwing demonstrators on Monday smashed car windows and set at least two vehicles ablaze in Haiti’s capital, hours after several electoral offices were attacked in northern towns as the country prepares for a Jan. 24 presidential and legislative runoff. Roughly 2,000 protesters took to the streets in downtown Port-au-Prince calling for new elections and the immediate removal of outgoing President Michel Martelly, among other grievances. Roads were blocked with flaming tire barricades and more than a dozen motorists had their cars pelted with rocks. A truck and an SUV were torched by young men near a police station. Police dispersed opposition protesters and cleared most roadblocks by late afternoon. Officers scattered some demonstrators with tear gas in the downtown slum of Bel Air, one of many impoverished areas where young people who’ve never held any kind of steady job are easy pickings for political actors looking for protesters for hire.

Haiti: Election panel says boycott will not stop presidential vote | Reuters

Haiti’s runoff presidential election will take place on Jan. 24, even though the opposition candidate insists he will boycott the vote because of his lack of faith in the process, the president of the Caribbean nation’s electoral council said on Sunday. Pierre-Louis Opont said the electoral council was busy preparing the runoff contest between ruling party candidate Jovenel Moise and opposition challenger Jude Celestin, who stated on Thursday that he would not take part. “I can confirm that as I talk to you today we have two candidates in the race and their names are Jovenel Moise and Jude Celestin,” Opont told Reuters in an interview. “Their names are already on the ballot and the election will take place as scheduled,” Opont said. He said the deadline for a candidate to withdraw had already passed.

Haiti: Only 1 presidential candidate campaigning in Haiti | The Washington Post

Campaigning for Haiti’s presidential runoff election kicked off Friday, but it appears there is only one candidate who will actively participate. Government-backed contender Jovenel Moise, a little-known agricultural entrepreneur who led a crowded field of 54 candidates with nearly 33 percent of the vote in the Oct. 25 first round, planned his first rally late Friday afternoon. But the campaign team of the second-place finisher, Jude Celestin, has said he will take part in the Jan. 24 runoff only if sweeping changes recently recommended by a special commission are adopted to improve Haiti’s much-criticized electoral machinery. Celestin told The Miami Herald on Thursday that outgoing President Michel Martelly “will have to do an election with just one candidate.” His phone consistently goes unanswered and his campaign team did not respond to calls Friday. While the Provisional Electoral Council has pledged to improve transparency for the final round, special commission spokesman Rosny Desroches has said he has seen very little progress to improve the process and ease tensions since the panel’s recommendations were released last weekend.

Haiti: Martelly’s one-man rule comes to an end in Haiti | Miami Herald

As a paralyzing political crisis pushed Haiti into an uncertain phase a year ago this month, a stoic President Michel Martelly assured the Haitian people and the international community that he had no interest in governing without the checks and balances of a parliament. “The only decree that I would take is one to organize elections,” Martelly said on the fifth anniversary of the devastating Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake as the terms of the entire lower house and a second tier of the 30-member Senate expired because of overdue legislative elections. Now as Haiti prepares to mark another quake anniversary, it is also preparing to welcome back a functioning Senate and lower house after 14 new Senators and 92 Deputies were elected in the much-criticized Aug. 9 and Oct. 25 election

Haiti: It’s official: Haiti presidential runoff in 17 days | Miami Herald

Haiti President Michel Martelly issued a presidential order Wednesday officially scheduling the country’s postponed presidential and partial legislative runoffs for Jan. 24. Martelly’s late night order came a day after the head of the Provisional Electoral Council reversed himself on the impossibility of staging the vote in time for Martelly’s Feb. 7 departure from office, and on the day that two top U.S. envoys arrived in Port-au-Prince to address an unraveling political crisis triggered by the Oct. 25 presidential and legislative elections. This [order] makes sense only if Célestin has agreed to participate in the second round. Robert Fatton, Haiti analyst Ambassador Thomas Shannon, counselor of the Department of State, and Haiti Special Coordinator Kenneth Merten, spent the first of two days meeting with key political actors including opposition candidate Jude Célestin. They had hope to convince Célestin to participate in the runoff. “This [order] makes sense only if Célestin has agreed to participate in the second round,” said Robert Fatton, a Haiti analyst and political science professor at the University of Virginia.

Haiti: Elections Date Finally Set  | Latin One

The postponed presidential and legislative runoffs and elections in Haiti have finally been given a new date. According to Miami Herald, it is now set to take place on January 24, 2016. Head of the Provisional Electoral Council Pierre-Louis Opont shared the date in a letter to President Michel Martelly after the nine-member council meeting was finally dismissed. Just the day before, Opont told Martelly that it was impossible to organize the elections for January 17, and so the final date could be staged to guarantee the handover of power from one president to another in time to meet the imposed deadline for February 7.

Haiti: Election chief says runoff can’t be held by Jan. 17 | Associated Press

Haiti’s outgoing leader met with election authorities Tuesday in search of a solution to the country’s deepening electoral impasse, after an official said it would be impossible to hold a presidential runoff in time for a transfer of power by the constitutional deadline. President Michel Martelly announced last week that Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council was warning that the runoff must be held by Jan. 17 to fulfill the constitutional mandate of inaugurating a new president Feb. 7.

Haiti: Run-off vote to go ahead despite irregularities | AFP

An independent commission on Sunday reported that the first round of Haitian presidential elections on October 25 were “stained by irregularities” but claimed problems were not serious enough to void the poll or further delay a run-off. The panel found that poll watchers intervened to help several candidates in the October ballot, and recommended possible legal action against poll workers and others involved in a fresh blow to a country long crippled by political instability. It also urged measures to improve the transparency in the contest to choose a successor to President Michel Martelly.

Haiti: Presidential vote plagued by irregularities, report finds | Miami Herald

A commission charged with evaluating Haiti’s Oct. 25 presidential and legislative elections has found that egregious irregularities and a high presumption of fraud plagued the vote, while the electoral machine requires sweeping changes in order to hold a postponed runoff. According to official results, government-backed candidate Jovenel Moïse received 32.76 percent of the votes while Jude Célestin, the former head of the state construction agency, garnered 25.29 percent. Célestin, however, called the results a “ridiculous farce” and refused to campaign. Alleging vote-rigging and ballot-stuffing, Célestin and other opposition candidates called for an independent Haitian-led commission to probe the disputed balloting. The commission was created by President Michel Martelly on Dec. 22, five days before the postponed second round. On Sunday morning, members issued their findings, which critics say do not resolve the political crisis despite pointing out a series of major systemic problems besieging Haitian society.

Haiti: Electoral Commission Seeks to Discover If Presidential Elections Were Fraudulent | teleSUR English

An independent electoral commission in Haiti is due to deliver its report on the first round of the presidential election this Thursday amid fervent claims of electoral fraud, while it seems highly unlikely that the second round of voting will take place Jan. 3 as originally planned. Five representatives from varying religious groups and nongovernmental organizations were appointed to the commission by electoral decree in December to investigate the claims of foul play. However it seems unlikely the second round of voting will go ahead Sunday. Rosny Desroches, spokesperson for the independent electoral commission, said the commission had established a sample of 2,000 ballot tallies out of 13,000 local counts and was working to analyze them. He admitted that it would be difficult to complete the task by Wednesday, as had been mandated by presidential decree.

Haiti: Time running out to avoid new Haiti poll delay | AFP

Haiti’s independent electoral commission was running out of time on Tuesday to study polling returns from October’s first round of presidential elections, threatening to further delay the process. In theory, the newly formed agency has until Wednesday to re-examine the first round of voting, which the opposition alleges was marred by widespread fraud, and to produce a report on the way forward. The second round had been due to go ahead on Sunday but has already been delayed indefinitely, and opposition flagbearer Jude Celestin had refused to campaign until the ballot-rigging is investigated.

Haiti: Prime Minister awaits elections report | Miami Herald

The latest date that Haiti could hold its postponed presidential runoff to meet a constitutionally mandated hand-over of power deadline by outgoing President Michel Martelly is Jan. 17, Prime Minister Evans Paul said. But meeting that deadline will depend heavily on whether a five-member electoral evaluation commission is able to find a solution to break the political impasse, Paul acknowledged during a visit to South Florida over the weekend to attend the funeral of longtime friend and respected Haitian journalist Pharès Duverné. Duverné, who received political exile in South Florida in 2001 after fleeing Haiti amid attacks against journalists, died in an Orlando hospital on Dec. 13 of kidney failure.

Haiti: UN urges Haiti to reschedule postponed poll | AFP

The United Nations Security Council urged Haiti on Wednesday to quickly reschedule its postponed presidential election ahead off further civil unrest. The second round of voting to choose a successor to President Michel Martelly had been due to go ahead on December 27 but was cancelled after fraud allegations. The first-round of voting and the subsequent lengthy and delayed vote count was marked by street protests alleging official corruption. An “election evaluation committee” has been set up to determine a way forward, but no new date has been set for the run-off, leaving the western hemisphere’s poorest country once more in political limbo.

Haiti: Electoral council postpones Sunday’s presidential vote | Reuters

Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council on Monday postponed until January this Sunday’s scheduled presidential run-off election amid accusations by the opposition candidate of fraud and irregularities. “The Provisional Electoral Council informs the general public, political parties and candidates in particular, that the elections of local authorities as well as the partial legislative and presidential elections that were to be held December 27, 2015 are postponed,” the council said in a statement. Ruling party candidate Jovenel Moïse and former government executive Jude Célestin were due to face each other on Sunday. Instead, the vote will take place in January, possibly on Jan. 10, two of the council members said.

Haiti: Opposition rejects Martelly’s election commission | Miami Herald

Haiti’s opposition and Senate have rejected a newly formed electoral commission, saying the President Michel Martelly-created body fails to respond to demands of Haitians seeking an inquiry into the Oct. 25 first round presidential vote. Nor does the commission, they say, resolve the post-electoral impasse that has been holding up a presidential runoff. “It doesn’t correspond to what the society has been asking, to what the candidates have been asking; nor does it assure the credibility of the process,” said Senator Jocelerme Privert. “I believe all actors have to begin to think about what’s in the best interest of the nation — peace, security, stability in the first days of 2016. This commission will not provide any of that.” A coalition of eight presidential candidates, dubbed the G8, also issued a statement about the commission, calling it a “cosmetic solution” to the crisis. Members said “it is inconceivable and unacceptable” that the country’s embattled Provisional Electoral Council and executive would work together to force such a solution on them without consulting them.

Haiti: Prime Minister Advises President to Form Electoral Commission | Associated Press

Haitian Prime Minister Evans Paul called Thursday for creation of a special commission to guarantee the credibility of the Caribbean country’s elections before presidential and legislative runoffs can be held. In a statement posted on his Twitter account, Haiti’s No. 2 official said the commission should have three days to produce its recommendations to Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council and the government. A week-and-a-half before the scheduled Dec. 27 presidential and legislative runoffs, Paul said he advised President Michel Martelly that it’s now necessary to “ensure the credibility of the process” because “transparent, participatory and inclusive” elections are a must amid deepening suspicions of official results from earlier rounds of voting. He did not detail how many commission members would be needed, how they would be chosen or what the scope of their review would be.