To allow the 316 registered political parties to come together before the elections, the Electoral Council opened registration for political party groups from July 13 to July 17.
To allow the 316 approved political parties to come together before the elections, the Electoral Council opened registration for political party groupings from July 13 to July 17. Referring to constraints in the electoral process and expressing their concerns, about twenty political organizations are asking the CEP to suspend registrations for now…
These political organizations say they have carefully reviewed the CEP statement setting the registration periods for political groupings from July 13 to 17, a five-day window, and for political coalitions from July 22 to 27. “… we believe it is necessary to bring several major legal, institutional, and political concerns to the attention of the CEP, which could affect the credibility and legitimacy of the electoral process,” the leaders of these political parties write in a joint statement.”The note published by the CEP has no reference number or the usual administrative details required for an official document of this importance, which weakens its institutional weight and raises questions about its legal value,” scold the political organizations that signed the statement.They say they noticed ‘the existence of different versions of the texts governing the electoral process: on one hand, a draft decree presented in its full version, and on the other hand, a series of articles that were modified or corrected at the Prime Minister’s office.’
Moreover, Le Nouvelliste observed that the new version of the electoral decree published in Le Moniteur on Thursday, July 2, 2026, only highlights the changes made in the June 2 version without reproducing the whole document.In a statement published Wednesday, the CEP explained that ‘the Electoral Decree of June 2, 2026, constitutes the legal framework governing the organization and conduct of the electoral process leading up to the general elections. It specifically sets the rules for voter registration, the approval and participation of political parties, voting operations, vote counting, the announcement of results, as well as the settlement of electoral disputes.
To make adjustments to some of its provisions, an amending Decree dated July 2, 2026, was adopted.’
For the leaders of political parties who signed this statement, ‘this coexistence of texts creates a situation of legal uncertainty that is harmful to all the actors involved. Haitian institutional experience shows that normative ambiguities often lead to political and judicial disputes, which can undermine the legitimacy of electoral processes.
As a result, it seems essential that the legal framework be clarified, harmonized, and definitively established before any technical steps of the process are implemented,’ they demand.
They also point out the fundamentally political nature of the electoral process, which characterizes the formation of platforms, groups, and political coalitions, and ‘cannot be reduced to a simple administrative formality.'”This is a highly political exercise involving consultations, negotiations, programmatic alignments, and internal decision-making that requires a reasonable amount of time. Imposing extremely tight deadlines risks undermining the effective participation of many political forces and violating the principle of inclusivity that should guide any democratic electoral process,” they argue.
These political party officials also bring up the security issue, which they see as an essential condition for the credibility of the vote.[…] the security situation remains extremely concerning in several regions of the country, seriously affecting citizens’ freedom of movement, the normal functioning of institutions, and the ability of political actors to carry out their activities.
In this context, moving forward with the technical phases of the electoral process without sufficient clarity on security conditions risks making the announced schedule unrealistic and could undermine the credibility of the election itself,” these political leaders explain.
They say they recognize that “the CEP does not, on its own, hold responsibility for national security, which mainly falls under the executive branch. However, the electoral institution has the obligation to ensure, in coordination with the competent authorities, that minimum security conditions exist before the irreversible start of the process.”Their recommendations…
After raising all these points, the signatories of this position paper recommend that the CEP: ‘postpone the currently announced dates for the registration of political groups and coalitions; publish, prior to any other action, the full, harmonized, and final version of the Electoral Decree to ensure legal certainty and equal treatment for all political actors; then proceed to publish a realistic electoral calendar, based on an objective assessment of the country’s political, institutional, and security conditions; engage in a formal dialogue with political forces and key national actors to promote a minimal consensus on the organization of the election.’
The signatory political parties
EDE, RDNP, KID, NEW ORIENTATION, SDP, VEYE YO, STAND UP CITIZEN, OPPOSITION GROUP OF FORMER PACT SIGNATORIES, ANFÒS AYTI, KORE-N, ENA, LET’S CHANGE LIFE, ROSPO, COREPAD/PEA, PEN/G8PA, WESTERN VOICE, STAND UP PATRIOTS, Indigenous Political Party, C.E.C.I.L.E, COPPOS-Haiti and Allies, UNITY, INIFOS.
