IMMEDIATE POST-ELECTION STATEMENT ON THE JUST CONCLUDED ELECTIONS IN THE REPUBLIC OF HAITI

20 NOVEMBER 2016

The CARICOM Election Observation Mission (CEOM) comprised:

· Dr. Steve Surujbally, Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (Chief of Mission)

· Ms. Jeanette Charles, Commissioner, Antigua & Barbuda Electoral Commission;

· Ms. Shavonne Saunders, Chief Clerk, Parliamentary Registration Department of The Bahamas;

· Mr. Charles Bostic, Registration Officer, Electoral Department of Barbados;

· Mr. Clement Cuthbert St Juste, Registration Officer, Electoral Commission of Saint Lucia; and

· Ms. Pamela Ogiste, Registration Officer for the Registration Area of Tobago, Elections and Boundaries Commission of Trinidad and Tobago.

The support staff from the CARICOM Secretariat were Ms. Tricia Barrow and Ms. Denise London.

MEETINGS

During the periods before, during and immediately after Elections Day, meetings were held with H.E Mr Enex Jean-Charles, Prime Minister of Haiti, and H.E. Ms Sandra Honoré, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations (SRSG) to Haiti.

At the invitation of Ms. Honoré, the Head of the CEOM also participated in a meeting which brought together the Ambassadors to Haiti of the Governments of Brazil, Canada, France, Spain and the United States of America. Also represented were the European Union (EU), the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF).

The CEOM also appreciated the opportunity to speak with Mr Uder Antoine, Executive Director of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP).

N.B. 1) Daily meetings with the CEOM members were convened for salient and in depth discussions.

CEOM ACTIVITIES ON ELECTIONS DAY

The CEOM was deployed in three (3) areas situated in and contiguous to the Haitian capital city Port-au-Prince, including rural zones affected by Hurricane Matthew. Plans for the CEOM to visit polling stations further afield were to be abandoned.

Collectively the CEOM visited over 300 Polling Stations.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

Since the Presidential Elections of October 2015 were generally considered to be seriously flawed, a new Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) was installed by the Interim President, His Excellency Jocelerme Privert, on 30 March 2016. The mandate of the CEP was to complete the suspended electoral process. The CEP, headed by Mr Léopold Berlanger, proposed an Elections Day of 9 October 2016.

Due to the immense damage caused by the passage of Hurricane Matthew through Haiti on 3 and 4 October 2016, the 9 October elections had to be postponed to 20 November 2016. This was a bold step by the CEP so soon after the devastation.

General Observations of the CARICOM Elections Observations Missions (CEOM) during the pre-, peri-and post electoral period.

Reconnaissance excursions around the Haitian Capital and further afield yielded the observation that the areas observed were calmly waiting Election Day. Meetings with the CEP Senior Staff, including the CEP’s Executive Director, Mr Uder Antoine, and his team, gave the CEOM reassurances that the Haitian Elections Management Body was well prepared. Staff were trained, committed and dedicated to effectively conducting the Elections for President and Senators. 6,189,153 voters – 3,076,918 men and 3,112,335 women - were documented in the Official List of Electors.

The CEOM, with its tested and proven technical officers from six (6) CARICOM Member States, collectively visited and keenly monitored well over 300 polling stations.

The overall considered opinion is that compared with the 25 October 2015 poll, on this occasion the CEP officers at the Polling Stations not only displayed an improved competence, but a uniform execution of their duties. The team attributed this noticeable amelioration to the training of poll staff conducted by the CEP. With few exceptions the poll staff treated CEOM members with the utmost respect, and demonstrated a genuine willingness to accommodate queries.

In the CEOM’s Final Report, specific deficiencies and new recommended improvements will be listed. Most of the lapses observed were not of any great consequence or of the nature to disturb the electoral results. It is worthy of note that many of the suggestions documented by the CEOM following the elections of 25 October 2015, were incorporated into the CEP’s Training Programme and were used on E-Day, 20 November 2016.

The CEOM urges all Political Parties and their candidates to ensure that their post-electoral behavior coincides with the law of the land, the tenets associated with electoral processes, and internationally accepted standards and best practice.

DR ROBERT STEPHEN SURUJBALLY

CHIEF OF MISSION

CARICOM ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION

21 NOVEMBER 2016

2