U.S. and others tell Haiti to speed up election planning, but no mention of January date

Foreign diplomats in Haiti on Wednesday called on Haitian President Jovenel Moïse to step up preparations for elections in the Caribbean nation.

Known as the Core Group, the diplomats say Haiti’s leaders and institutions need to urgently publish an electoral calendar and accelerate the distribution of national identification cards to finalize the elections as soon as possible. Haiti also needs to put together a reliable electoral list, publish an electoral law and a party law that guarantee the transparency of the elections, and ensure that there are sufficient security conditions to allow elections to run smoothly.

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Haiti’s legislative elections have been overdue for more than a year. Despite the need to go to the ballot, a variety of concerns have been expressed about holding the vote, including the ongoing spike in kidnappings and armed warfare by gangs throughout the country.

The Core Group is made up of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the United States, France, European Union and the special representatives of the Organization of American States and the Secretary General of the United Nations. It was once an extremely powerful and influential force in the Caribbean nation, but in recent years, members have abdicated much of their power and influence to the U.S. by allowing the Trump administration to set the agenda in Haiti.

As a result, frustrations and dissension have quietly ensued among the group as ambassadors watched their power wane, and Haitian leaders take advantage of the divided positions such as the push for January 2021 elections. While there was consensus by Washington and OAS, France, the European Union and other nations expressed concern about the timeline and the lack of political consensus in the country for elections to take place.

Others including the United Nations supported the controversial push by Moïse to reform the constitution.

The division has resulted in Moïse rebuffing the Washington’s calls for a January 2021 vote.

Ruling by decree since January when the terms of all but 10 Parliamentarians expired, Moïse has said elections will take place after Haitians have voted on a new constitution through a referendum, which opposition members and some legal experts have said is not allowed. He has also alluded to having just one general election where voters will decide on the next president, Parliament and local offices.

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In October, Florida Congresswoman Frederica Wilson and Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey led 24 congressional lawmakers in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressing alarm over the Trump administration’s calls for elections in Haiti without broad civil society involvement. The letter came after a senior State Department official publicly lashed out against members of Haiti’s civil society and opposition after they voiced concerns about the legitimacy of vote under Moïse and refused to send members to participate in a new Provisional Electoral Council being created by him.

Last week, the State Department finally responded to members of Congress’ concerns.

In a Nov. 17 letter, U.S. Assistant Acting Secretary of State in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs Ryan M. Kaldahl said while the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince has found “that there is widespread consensus about the need for constitutional reform” across Haitian society, including a variety of constitutional experts, there is a lack of consensus on “the specific nature of such reforms, and there are distinct differences over the legal mechanisms required for making any such reforms.”

“The U.S. position is legislative elections should take place as soon as technically feasible to end this prolonged period of rule by decree, and that constitutional reform should not delay legislative elections,” Kaldahl said in the letter.

Kaldahl’s use of the term “as soon as technically feasible,” is being interpreted as a backpedaling by the State Department., which ahead of the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election said is expecting elections in Haiti no later than January to renew the entire Lower Chamber of Deputies, two-thirds of the 30-member Senate and all local offices, including mayors.

The position was later expressed by OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro in a tweet.

The State Department did not respond to several questions from the Miami Herald including whether the U.S. was now backing down from its January deadline. During a Nov. 10 press briefing where Pompeo discussed elections in the hemisphere, he mentioned recent votes in Bolivia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said they were seeking “fair and free elections in Venezuela and Nicaragua,” but failed to mention Haiti.

Wilson, a Democrat who represents the one of the largest constituents of Haitian-American voters, said she remains concerned, although she is pleased to see that the State Department shares her concerns regarding democracy, insecurity, and human rights in Haiti. She also and agrees that elections, when scheduled, should include the broadest possible participation of civil society.

“Haitian civil society has raised pressing concerns about a lack of an inclusive dialogue, government intimidation, and unconstitutional appointments to the electoral council. As stated in my October 15th letter, it remains critical for Secretary Pompeo to recognize these concerns and use the voice of the United States to support free and fair elections,” Wilson said. ”While legitimate elections should take place as soon as possible, I am deeply concerned that a failure to engage key stakeholders and fears of political intimidation will harm public confidence in any outcome. “

The lawmaker also added that she was disappointed to see “that the State Department chose not to directly address a Sept. 16 statement made made by a senior official warning Haitian civil society groups of “consequences” if they stand in the way of the electoral process.

“This rhetoric threatens to impede meaningful dialogue and I again urge Secretary Pompeo to clarify those remarks,” Wilson said.