We demand a fair electoral process!

As announced, local relays of the "global government" have submitted to the de facto regime a draft electoral decree and a calendar to organize upcoming elections and allow citizens to choose their leaders. But how can such a process be credited when five members of the Transitional Presidential Council themselves have ongoing cases for corruption and embezzlement of public funds? How can one also understand the pressures exerted by American authorities to impose elections led by deeply discredited leaders, when two of the country's largest departments — Ouest and Artibonite — comprising the largest number of voters, are now controlled by gangs? What is the international community really playing at? How can one claim to elect a president by effectively excluding a large part of the electorate? And how could this head of state, resulting from a truncated ballot, govern in the name of the Republic without a truly national mandate? Can we finally endorse elections that would offer the corrupt individuals occupying public administration, as well as organized crime actors, the opportunity to prepare their retention or return to power through a process locked in advance, favoring only candidates from their mafia clan? Where is the principle of fairness?
An open and healthy electoral competition is one that offers all parties and candidates truly equal chances. However, when a political entity occupying the top of the state competes with groups that have remained outside the governmental circle, the principle of fairness is immediately compromised and can only lead to an electoral debacle. For the sake of justice and fairness, no member of the CPT — nor their parties — should be allowed to participate in the upcoming elections if they were to be held on the announced date.
A power based on favoritism, clientelism, and nepotism, which distorts the meaning of public service, cannot guarantee citizens' trust in a credible democratic process. An election is above all an honest mediation between citizens and power. The legitimacy of elected officials can only come from popular sanction expressed through universal suffrage, an exercise by which the people freely affirm their sovereignty. This legitimacy cannot be obtained through corruption or violence. The draft electoral decree and the calendar disseminated by the CEP are merely diversionary tactics aimed, fundamentally, at allowing the de facto regime to cross the deadline of February 7, 2026. This is a futile strategy, a cynical game led by obscure forces to prolong instability in Haiti. This maneuver must not succeed. Those who today exercise power based on corruption, embezzlement, and the plundering of state resources cannot remain in power. They must all leave. The neutrality of public authorities is an essential condition to guarantee the fairness of an electoral process. However, each presidential advisor represents a political sector, as does each member of the government on whom the appointment of the CEP depends. Therefore, the process appears flawed from its origin, and its credibility seriously compromised. The United States must be consistent!
While reaffirming my confidence in liberal democracy — of which the United States remains one of the main defenders — I call on them to be consistent with the principles they promote: equality of rights, political equality, and respect for democratic norms. These values constitute the core of their moral duty and cannot be sacrificed to circumstantial considerations.
Given the current situation, it is imperative to establish, before February 7, 2026, new governance capable of restoring citizen trust in the electoral process. Such a transition is essential to allow a rapid return to institutional normalcy and the rule of law, through truly free, fair, and inclusive elections. It is to this requirement that I dedicate myself, calling on everyone to assume their responsibility. It is time to converge individual wills towards a common patriotic cause: to collectively define a viable solution, in the absence of a legal or institutional response to the current crisis. Success will depend entirely on our collective ability to seriously, coherently, and realistically desire and decide on the path that will finally lead us out of this ongoing disaster. The time for contemplative silence, political evasion, or obstinate refusal to face reality is over. The country is disintegrating before our eyes. At such a moment, to remain silent or withdraw is to leave the field open to the forces of corruption, violence, and oppression. Every citizen must assume their share of responsibility. Mine, I have always taken — and I take it again today. A political and intellectual class worthy of the name does not allow its conduct to be dictated by imperialist injunctions or external agitation. It anchors itself in lucid, demanding, and deeply patriotic reflection to determine what is just, good, and necessary for the nation. We must clearly say no to the project of breaking up the Republic of Haiti and oppose it with a firm, responsible, and unequivocal patriotic refusal. Citizens, wherever you are, do not flee the political space! Your withdrawal would only strengthen those who thrive on the destruction of the nation. Disengagement is their greatest ally. Get involved! Get involved to defend what remains of our national dignity! Get involved to rebuild a state serving the common good! Get involved so that justice, freedom, and equality cease to be hollow words and become lived realities again! Haiti will survive if, and only if, its sons and daughters finally decide to stand up, unite, and act. History does not forgive indifference: it always celebrates those who chose courage. The time has come. Let us together take the path of responsibility and patriotism! Sonet Saint-Louis, Esq.
Professor of Constitutional Law and Legal Research Methodology at the Faculty of Law and Economics of the State University of Haiti
Université du Québec à Montréal
Email: sonet.saintlouis@gmail.com