HAITI-CARICOM’s EPG visiting Haiti

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Eminent Persons Group (EPG) is visiting Haiti to engage directly with a wide range of Haitian stakeholders, including some state agencies and the international community, the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat announced on Friday.

In a brief two-paragraph statement, it said the EPG visit “will offer an opportunity to obtain a first-hand assessment of the stakeholders’ views on governance and security issues and preparations for elections which the Electoral Commission earlier announced will take place on 13 December 2026”.

The EPG, comprising former St. Lucia prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony as chairman, former Jamaican prime minister Bruce Golding, and The Bahamas’ former prime minister Perry Christie, is a mediation team working to help solve Haiti’s political and security crisis. The group also works with local and international stakeholders to support governance, security, and free elections.

The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) recently announced that the first round of long-awaited presidential and legislative elections, alongside a constitutional referendum, will be held on December 13 this year, marking the first time Haitians will cast ballots since 2016, when President Jovenel Moise was elected. Moise was later assassinated on July 7, 2021.

The preliminary results are expected to be published December 19, with final results for the first round scheduled for January 9, 2027. A second round of presidential and legislative elections, along with local elections, is scheduled for February 21, 2027, with final results for the second round of presidential and legislative elections scheduled for March 7, with final local election results expected March 12.

The electoral campaign for the first round is scheduled to begin October 5 and run through December 12. The second-round campaign is scheduled for January 10 through February 20, 2027.

The CEP said 17 of the 18 political groups, representing 228 political parties, have received approval to contest the polls.