UN Council ‘disappointed’ over lack of Haiti vote

Port-au-Prince / AFP

The UN Security Council expressed “deep disappointment” with electoral gridlock in Haiti, a day in which the country had been slated to inaugurate a new president but did not due to an indefinitely postponed vote.
Haiti’s presidential election has been repeatedly postponed, with the most recent vote, scheduled for April 24, never materializing and officials setting no new date.
In a statement, members of the UN Security Council “expressed their deep disappointment that Haitian actors failed to meet the election and inauguration deadlines agreed upon.”
Haiti has been in deep political crisis since its first postponement in December, when a runoff between then-president Michel Martelly’s favored candidate Jovenel Moise and opposition flag-bearer Jude Celestin was called off amid violence and allegations of fraud in the first round.
Meanwhile, interim President Jocelerme Privert was elected on February 14 for three months to oversee the April run-off as well as partial legislative and local elections. He was slated to hand over power on May 14.
However persistent distrust among the political class has made organizing a vote impossible, and lawmakers are unable to decide on the fate of the presidency once Privert’s mandate expires.
To restore confidence in the electoral process, the interim president installed an independent evaluation commission tasked with verifying the results of the 2015 election.