UN concerned over gang-controlled Port-au-Prince ahead of Haiti elections

Haiti’s transitional presidential council is tasked with holding general elections before Feb. 7, 2026, when the nine-member council is scheduled to step down.

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“The transition clock is ticking. I am concerned that a steady path toward the restoration of democratic governance is yet to emerge,” said Carlos Ruiz Massieu, special representative of the U.N. Secretary-General for Haiti and head of the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti, during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday.

A date for the general election, the first in nearly a decade, has not been announced, as gang violence continues to grip the capital and other regions. Nevertheless, technical preparations are underway.

The U.S. Chargé d’Affaires to Haiti, Henry Wooster, urged transitional authorities to submit a detailed electoral plan, cautioning that “positions are not for life.”

Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council has assessed voting centers in nine of the country’s 10 departments, identifying some 1,309 centers for an estimated 6.2 million voters. The council has said that the first round of elections would cost nearly $137 million. Meanwhile, Haiti’s Ministry of Justice announced that more than 220 political parties have begun the registration process.

Despite preparations, gang violence remains pervasive. The U.N. recorded 2,123 victims from June 1 to Aug. 31 across Haiti, with killings surging in the Artibonite and Central departments.

“Haiti truly stands at a crossroads,” said Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. “The international community must stand with Haiti as it takes back control of its country…The political class and private sector in Haiti must do its part as well in support of a democratically elected government.”

The United Kingdom representative echoed Waltz’s comments, praising ongoing sanctions against certain Haitians and emphasizing that future measures should also target economic and political supporters of powerful gangs.

The push for elections comes nearly a month after the U.N. Security Council authorized a gang suppression force to replace a smaller U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police, which was understaffed and underfunded. The new force, set to deploy 5,550 personnel with a 12-month mandate, will have the power to arrest suspected gang members—a capability the current force lacks.

Russia expressed concern over the involvement of foreign mercenaries in Haiti and criticized civilian deaths in the fight against gangs. A recent U.N. report indicated that drone operations killed 527 suspected gang members and 20 civilians—including 11 children—from March 1 to Sept. 20. Another 28 civilians, including nine children, were injured.

Gangs are estimated to control 90% of Port-au-Prince, displacing a record 1.4 million people across Haiti. Makeshift shelters have increased from 142 in December to 238 so far this year, according to the U.N. International Organization for Migration.

From January to June, more than 3,100 people were reported killed, with an additional 1,100 injured, highlighting the urgent security and humanitarian challenges facing the country ahead of its elections.