Haiti’s election council is preparing a revised timetable for presidential and legislative voting, leaving the previously scheduled Dec. 13 vote unsettled amid violence that has displaced nearly 1.5 million people.
The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) postponed the campaign period in an Oct. 5 notice. Its original calendar set Dec. 13 for the first presidential and legislative round, and the new notice did not explicitly cancel that polling date.
Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the United Nations special representative for Haiti and head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), told the Security Council on Oct. 19 that more than 35 political parties and groupings and more than 3,500 candidates had registered. He described the electoral preparations as Haiti’s most advanced in more than a decade.
Ruiz Massieu warned that announcing new voting dates before assessing security and logistical conditions could weaken confidence in Haitian institutions. He said gangs had changed tactics as security operations intensified and had expanded attacks into rural areas.
The United Nations mission documented more than 1,000 deaths and more than 100 kidnapping victims from July through September. More than 17,000 people fled their homes in the preceding three months, Ruiz Massieu said. Haiti’s displaced population now approaches 1.5 million, including more than 740,000 children.
Ruiz Massieu called for the full deployment of the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF), which has a Security Council-authorized ceiling of 5,550 personnel. He also expressed concern about an attack on Salvadoran force members. El Salvador’s armed forces said four air force personnel were missing after their armored vehicle was ambushed, and fighting has hindered the search.
The IMF projects that Haiti’s economy will contract for an eighth consecutive fiscal year in 2026. Ruiz Massieu also said less than half of the United Nations humanitarian response plan for the year had been funded.
The CEP extended candidate registration to Oct. 31. It has not announced when it will publish the revised calendar.
