Elections Before February 7, 2026: A Daunting Mission for Jacques Desrosiers

PORT-AU-PRINCE.— In a climate of political tension and uncertainty, Haiti is preparing to welcome a new face at the head of its electoral body. Journalist Jacques Desrosiers is to be officially installed on Monday as president of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), during a ceremonial event scheduled at the institution's headquarters in Port-au-Prince.

The highly symbolic event is expected to bring together several government figures, members of the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT), as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps and international organizations, notably the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). Their presence will attest to the particular attention the international community continues to pay to the Haitian electoral process.

A former secretary-general of the Association of Haitian Journalists (AJH) and a respected figure in the media landscape, Jacques Desrosiers inherits a mission that is, to say the least, arduous: to submit to the CPT as soon as possible a realistic electoral calendar allowing for general elections to be held before February 7, 2026. This objective, reiterated repeatedly by the transitional authorities, responds to growing diplomatic pressures for a swift return to constitutional order.

Among the announced guests are Prime Minister Alix Fils-Aimé, the commander-in-chief of the Haitian Armed Forces, the acting director-general of the National Police, as well as several members of the Prime Minister's Office. Their presence will lend a definite political significance to the ceremony, at a time when the state is struggling to re-establish its authority over a large part of the territory.

No official election date has yet been announced. However, Jacques Desrosiers stated that he intends to: «restore confidence in the electoral process and allow the Haitian people to freely express their will». These are idealistic words, but they clash with the harsh reality of a country fragmented by the violence of armed groups, where holding national elections remains a colossal logistical and security challenge.

The main question remains: will the new CEP be able to reconcile the demands of a tight political calendar with the imperatives of security and transparency? In a country where the memory of contested elections remains vivid, Jacques Desrosiers will have to convince both citizens and international partners that democracy remains possible in Haiti.

Jean Mapou