Haiti – Politics: “It will be very difficult” to hold elections if…

Haiti – Politics: “It will be very difficult” to hold elections if…
September 8, 2024 06:51:49

Prime Minister Gary Corneille, in an interview with the BBC World Service’s Hard Talks podcast hosted by Stephen Sackler, urgently called for the security mission to arrive in Haiti as soon as possible and expressed concern about the support of the security support mission, saying that the international community’s assistance “is coming too slowly and people have no patience.”

He said the mission currently has only two teams, about 400 people, and they need help.

“As you know, right now we have only 103 police officers per 100,000 people. So I have no doubt that we are understaffed,” Corneille stressed, adding that it is vital that Haiti’s partners, neighbours and individual countries follow through on their commitments to support this effort as soon as possible.

“We are certainly very, very, very concerned. The support that was promised has been slow to arrive. The Haitian people have been very patient. I would say that our transition team was very fragile and they expected the support to come quickly. “The political season certainly doesn’t last long. There will be people who will try to manipulate the situation by taking advantage of the very difficult situation that the Haitian people are going through right now,” he added.

The first Kenyan agents arrived in Haiti on June 25 and have been there for more than two months, so the local population is still waiting for the results, while the authorities wait for other countries to be willing to add more police forces. Despite the presence of Kenyan agents, the “400 Mawozo” group has taken control of several areas a few kilometers from the Dominican border.

Without security, elections are at risk

When asked if he thought it would be possible to organize free and fair elections in Haiti by February 2026, Gary Corneille responded that “it will be very difficult” if the country does not receive the assistance and support it needs as soon as possible, especially in terms of security missions and humanitarian assistance and early recovery.

HL/ Haiti Liberty News