Overview:
Journalist Jacques Desrosiers has been appointed president of Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), changing Patrick Saint-Hilaire. The management change comes amid the US’ strain for an electoral timeline and the federal government’s determination to cancel a pricey constitutional reform to prioritize long-delayed elections—amid persistent gang violence and distrust.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Journalist Jacques Desrosiers, longtime chief of the Affiliation of Haitian Journalists (AJH), has been appointed president of Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), taking on from Patrick Saint-Hilaire, who resigned unexpectedly final month.
Desrosiers’s appointment comes at a pivotal time, because the transitional authorities faces mounting worldwide strain — particularly from the US — to set a transparent electoral calendar and restore democratic order by Feb. 7, 2026, when its mandate ends.
Throughout his swearing-in ceremony on the CEP’s Pétion-Ville headquarters on Oct. 13, Desrosiers promised to steer with “transparency, inclusion, and dialogue” and to strengthen public belief in Haiti’s long-paralyzed electoral system.
“Collectively, we’re going to work to strengthen public belief within the electoral course of,” Desrosiers stated. “We’re going to promote constructive and inclusive dialogue the place each voice will likely be heard and each contribution valued.”
The CEP’s management change follows the federal government’s determination final week to desert the controversial constitutional reform challenge, which consumed hundreds of thousands of {dollars} and greater than a 12 months of consultations earlier than being scrapped below U.S. and home strain.
That reform effort — geared toward changing the 1987 Structure — had drawn widespread criticism as illegitimate and expensive, diverting consideration and sources from the pressing want to carry elections.
Now, Washington and the Caribbean Neighborhood (Caricom) are demanding that Haitian authorities ship outcomes. In early October, U.S. chargé d’affaires Henry Wooster publicly urged Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé and the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) to not use insecurity or constitutional debates as excuses for additional delays.
“Their positions will not be held for all times,” Wooster stated, calling on Haitian leaders to “publish a concrete and credible electoral timeline.”
Following that warning, the Haitian authorities formally dissolved the Steering Committee on Constitutional Reform throughout its Oct. 9 Council of Ministers assembly, vowing to focus completely on organizing elections.
New board, previous challenges
The restructured CEP board now consists of:
- Jacques Desrosiers, representing the press sector, as president;
- Jaccéus Joseph, representing peasant associations, as vp;
- Peterson Pierre-Louis, representing the Reformed Church buildings, as secretary common; and
- Nemrod Sanon, representing unions, as treasurer—a place beforehand held by Desrosiers.
Former president Patrick Saint-Hilaire, representing the Catholic Church, will stay a member however with out an government function. The remaining 4 of the nine-member establishment are:
- Yves Marie Edouard, consultant of the ladies’s Sector.
- Rose Thérèse Magalie Georges, consultant of the human rights sector.
- Marie Florence Mathieu, consultant of the college sector.
- Schnaïda Adely, consultant of the Vodou sector.
Saint-Hilaire denied resigning over inside disputes or political strain, saying as a substitute that he needed to “assist the transition” by stepping again from the presidency however remaining energetic inside the council, devoted to the values and rules of credible elections.”
“Collectively, we’re going to work to strengthen public belief within the electoral course of.”
Jacques Desrosiers, new president of the CEP
Neither he nor Desrosiers, nevertheless, introduced a timeline for the elections — an omission that has drawn skepticism from political observers who observe that no vote has been held in Haiti since 2016, leaving the nation with out a single elected official.
Prime Minister Fils-Aimé pushes for electoral calendar amid insecurity and distrust
Twenty-four hours after Desrosiers took workplace, Fils-Aimé met with the brand new CEP management to emphasise the urgency of setting a transparent electoral schedule.
In a statement Tuesday, his workplace stated the federal government would absolutely assist the council’s operations however expects fast outcomes.
“The holding of credible elections stays a nationwide precedence and a decisive step towards the nation’s stability and institutional renewal,” Fils-Aimé stated. “The Government is dedicated to supporting the CEP in all vital steps, in a spirit of transparency, inclusiveness, and credibility.”
The prime minister additionally tasked the CEP with drafting a brand new electoral decree with a transparent calendar and logistical plan to revive confidence in a course of lengthy marred by delays, corruption allegations and political interference.
The brand new CEP faces formidable challenges. Practically 90% of the capital stays below gang management, based on police estimates, making it almost not possible to prepare a nationwide vote below present circumstances. Within the Artibonite and Ouest departments, key electoral zones are successfully inaccessible to authorities.
Civil society organizations and worldwide companions have repeatedly warned that elections held with out satisfactory safety or public belief might deepen Haiti’s disaster as a substitute of resolving it.
Nonetheless, the transitional authorities insist that elections should proceed — even in phases — to revive legitimacy to the state after years of interim governance. Haiti’s final elected president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in July 2021, and since then, the nation has been ruled by appointed or transitional figures with no parliament to test on their actions.
A race towards time
With simply 4 months left earlier than the CPT’s mandate expires, the clock is ticking for Desrosiers and his workforce. The worldwide group has tied future assist to measurable progress on the electoral entrance, whereas Haitians demand concrete motion on safety, humanitarian reduction, healthcare and training — areas many view as conditions for any credible vote.
For now, the CEP’s management change is seen as a symbolic gesture — one that will check whether or not Haiti’s transitional authorities can lastly take the decisive steps wanted to rebuild public confidence and restore a semblance of democracy.
Whereas recognizing that the safety scenario stays unstable, the transitional authorities now plan to focus solely on organizing elections earlier than their mandate ends.
“After the delays and the respectable criticisms that adopted, the Council has lately taken the required steps to restart the journey towards common elections within the nation,” Frinel Joseph, a non-voting CPT member, posted on X. “Every motion taken displays our dedication to rebuilding belief, guaranteeing transparency, and guiding Haiti again onto the trail of democratic renewal.”