Haiti-Elections: Among the 39 candidates on the ballot, it is the 54th who will be elected. Chronicle of an announced electoral result

By Jean Venel Casséus

I dare to borrow Gabriel García Márquez's glasses to read between the lines the magic of Haitian political reality.

Once upon a time, in 2006, there was René Préval. Through the mechanical addition of blank votes, the man acceded to the supreme magistracy thanks to an arithmetic operation disguised as a national choice, without a clear political expression or assumed programmatic coherence. The election then took on the appearance of a technical validation exercise rather than a decision driven by a self-aware citizenry.

Another time, in 2011, there was Michel Joseph Martelly. By the grace of a blank word, hilarious on the surface, threatening in depth, the artist was promoted to president. The electoral scene maintained its regulatory forms, its ballot boxes and ballots, while the essential unfolded elsewhere, in a space impervious to popular deliberation.

Since then, the scenario has refined. Elections cease to occupy the place of a sovereign moment and settle into a theatrical register. The sets change, the actors partially renew, the script remains unchanged. The public attends the performance, without ever accessing the control room.

It is February. The electoral year officially opens. The calendar circulates, statements align, international observers adjust their agendas. In the public sphere, a controlled agitation takes shape. There is talk of registrations, logistics, security, funding. Technique occupies all the space, politics remains backstage.

Very early on, candidacies proliferate. Recycled former ministers, media figures seeking reconversion, regional notables propelled by opaque networks, hastily manufactured outsiders. Thirty-nine names emerge, soon validated, printed, distributed. Plurality fills the page, without producing a clear direction. No collective narrative runs through this fragmented electoral offer. No national project forms its axis.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, in chanceries and major international organizations, serious work is underway. Discreetly. Without posters, without public promises. Discussions follow one another, balances are negotiated, profiles are compared. It is not about choosing a president, but about designating an acceptable solution. Stable. Predictable. Compatible.

As the year progresses, some candidates speak louder. They crisscross the country, occupy television sets, saturate networks. Their visibility increases, their media centrality asserts itself. The people observe this agitation.

In September, a rumor circulates. Then another. Names disappear from the public sphere. Others emerge without visible campaigns. Speeches tighten, funding shifts, support realigns. The official list remains unchanged. Thirty-nine candidates remain in the running.