Haiti passes electoral law for first presidential vote since 2016

Haiti moved closer to presidential elections not held since 2016 on Monday, after the country’s transitional authorities adopted a long-awaited electoral law that political commentators say will finally set in motion the process for restoring democratic rule in the gang-battered Caribbean nation.

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The electoral framework was approved during a tense meeting of the nine-member Transitional Presidential Council (TPC) and a wider council of ministers. The body, established in April 2024 in response to a prolonged political vacuum and a sharp escalation in armed gang violence, has been running Haiti’s civic and security agenda ahead of elections scheduled for February 2026.

Frinel Joseph, one of the council’s two non-voting observers, welcomed the development on Monday, describing it as a critical breakthrough for the transition process.

“Marks a decisive turning point in the transition,” Joseph wrote in a post on X.

He later doubled down on the significance of the decision, insisting that the council — in partnership with government ministers — is working to build, not restrict, democratic participation.

“Are providing the country with the necessary legal and political framework for holding elections that will allow citizens to choose their representatives in accordance with the constitution, democratic principles and the Agreement of April 3, 2024,” Joseph said, referring to the transitional accord formed earlier this year.

Three of the council’s seven voting members were absent from Monday’s meeting. Political observers say their boycott was a calculated effort to defeat quorum and block the law’s approval, leveraging public frustration and institutional uncertainty to extend their tenure in office beyond February and push out sitting Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé.

Despite the absence, the legislation was adopted anyway.

For the law to have legal authority, it must now be published in Haiti’s official gazette — the only remaining procedural requirement before the presidential vote timeline can formally begin.

Haiti has had no presidential election since 2016, when Jovenel Moïse won the national vote, defeating 26 other candidates. His presidency ended tragically in July 2021 when armed attackers stormed his private residence overlooking the capital, killing him and injuring his wife.

The Moïse assassination remains one of Haiti’s largest unresolved legal and governance crises.

Several former Colombian soldiers have been arrested in connection with the Moïse killing. And while several suspects have appeared in courtrooms in the United States, no one has yet been tried in a local Haitian court.

Although the law clears a major administrative logjam, analysts inside and outside Haiti say Monday’s decision does not bring the country meaningfully closer to a safe, open, or fair election environment.

Political observers say Monday’s decision, while clearing a procedural hurdle, still doesn’t offer a clear path to free and fair elections — and that Haiti’s electoral process remains rife with challenges.

Before Monday’s vote, a draft version sent by the Provisional Electoral Council was heavily criticised by human rights advocates, who said the text lacked basic safeguards for candidate eligibility — raising concerns that unclear definitions could allow political exclusion or manipulation.