Haiti’s Conseil Electoral Provisoire (CEP) has postponed the start of voting for the 2016 Presidential Election.
The first round of voting was scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 9th, 2016.
However, just five days earlier, the country’s southernmost region was devastated by Hurricane Matthew, a massive category 4 storm.
As news reports began to show just how much damage & destruction was caused by Hurricane Matthew, Haiti’s Conseil Electoral Provisoire (CEP) decided to implement a temporary moratorium on all election and campaign activities.
On Friday, October 14th, the CEP announced it’s new election timetable. A revised date has been set for the first round of the presidential election and any subsequent runoff round.
If all goes according to plan, Haitian voters will return to the polls on November 20th, 2016.
If none of the candidates receive more than 50% of the popular vote, a runoff round between the top two contenders will take place on January 29th, 2017.
This year, there are a total of 27 candidates vying for the nation’s top leadership position.
The 1987 Constitution of Haiti mandates that a new president be elected and begin their five year non-consecutive term in office on February 7th, 2017.
Some election observers have raised concerns about the runoff date being only a week before the constitutionally mandated start date of February 7th, 2017.
The worry is that the runoff results may not be ready in time, which could delay the new president from being sworn in and promptly beginning their term on February 7th.
Given last year’s presidential and legislative elections debacle resulting from rampant violence and voter fraud, concerns are mounting that these same issues may arise again.
In addition, many people in the country’s southern peninsula are still reeling from the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.
It is still unclear if the CEP and the Haitian government will be able to fully prepare the southern region’s electorate in time for the start of voting on November 20th.
List of 2016 Haiti Presidential Candidates PDF
Haiti Election 2016