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Crucial elections in Haiti

Haitians must be able to exercise their fundamental right to elect a new government as soon as possible in order to end the economic and political instability affecting their country.

Montréal, Sunday, March 26, 2000 - Haitians must be able to exercise their fundamental right to elect a new government as soon as possible in order to end the economic and political instability affecting their country.

"The situatioen is deteriorating. Citizens are visibly dissatisfied and this could lead to violence," reports a delegation of representatives of organizations working in Haiti.

Marie Marsolais of the group Concertation pour Ha?ti heads the delegation, which includes J?r?me M?tellus of the Regroupement des organismes canado-ha?tiens pour le d?veloppement (ROCAHD) and Jacques Champagne, who represents the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development. The delegation visited Haiti to investigate the situation after the government's decree annulling the elections that were to take place on March 19.

The Provisional Election Council has recommended that elections be held on April 9, but to date President Ren? Pr?val has rejected this suggestion.

"Haitians are frustrated because the elections have already been postponed three times. We have learned that there has been a distribution of arms in some areas. This should be viewed as an alarm signal," states the delegation.

"Holding elections is crucial for Haiti. According to the Constitution, the Parliament must convene by the second Monday in June; if not, swearing in of new members and senators will be postponed until January 2001. "These delays are unacceptable, and even more so because Parliament has not sat for 14 months."

During their stay, the members of the delegation had a one-hour discussion with Premier Jacques Edouard Alexis. They also met with the representatives of the main political parties, civil society organizations, the IFES (International Foundation for Election Systems) and ambassadors Orlando Marville, of the Organization of American States, and Gilles Bernier, of Canada in Port-au-Prince. However, they were unable to meet with the Provisional Election Council as they had hoped.

The delegation was able to observe that the electoral process is complex and raises many questions. For example, each elector will receive six different ballots (for Parliament, Senate, Assembly of Communal Sections, Governing Council of Communal Sections, Municipal Council and city delegates), but only the first two ballots clearly identify the various parties through photos and symbols.

Moreover, the ballots are not printed on "safe paper" and are not numbered, which could lead to fraud. Finally, there is still a great deal to be done in order to ensure that voting will take place in an orderly manner, from the appointment and training of polling station staff, to completing the printing of the ballots and drawing up the list of polling stations.

The members of the delegation have launched an appeal to the Canadian government to pressure the Haitian government into holding elections by the end of April by the latest. Some countries and groups, including the Organization of American States, the European Union and the American Congress, have already made declarations to this end.

The members of the delegation have requested to meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Lloyd Axworthy, to inform him of their recommendations.

The delegation is convinced of the importance of ensuring that a significant contingent of foreign observers is sent to monitor the unfolding of the elections on voting day and up until all the votes are counted.