US urges Haiti to implement measures to ensure free, fair elections

The United States yesterday said it believes that a report of a Good Offices mission that visited Haiti earlier this month offers important findings and recommendations that the Haitian government should implement.

“The report lays out the necessary steps needed to move forward, notably the need to proceed with free and fair legislative and presidential elections to restore parliament and facilitate the democratic transfer of executive power. A newly elected president should succeed President (Jovenel) Moise when his term ends on February 7, 2022,” said Bradley A. Freden, the US interim permanent representative to the Organisation of American States (OAS).

The OAS Permanent Council had earlier approved by consensus a resolution expressing concern over the grave political, security, and human rights situation in Haiti and offered to send a Good Offices mission to the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.

The mission met with a range of stakeholders from June 8-10, including the government, opposition, and civil society and its objective was to facilitate a dialogue that would lead to free and fair elections.

The mission comprised the permanent representatives to the OAS of Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States, with support from the OAS General Secretariat and the Special Representative of the OAS Secretary General in Haiti.

Freden told the OAS Permanent Council on Wednesday that notably, the report calls for political consensus and compromise in order to establish a government that will have the confidence of the Haitian people.

He said it also calls for “urgent steps to re-establish a climate of security in conformity with human rights obligations and appointment of new members to the provisional electoral council to ensure that the Haitian people have confidence in this critical institution and that legislative and presidential elections are held this year.