Haiti has postponed its presidential and parliamentary elections indefinitely after electoral authorities extended preparation plans due to mounting gang violence.
The decision announced on Tuesday by the country's provisional electoral council halts a national voting schedule that was originally unveiled in late July. Under that timetable, the first round of voting was set for December 13, 2026, followed by a second round on February 21, 2027, in the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation.
In an official statement, the provisional electoral council, the body responsible for organizing national votes, confirmed that the official campaign period was postponed. Council leadership removed all references to voting dates, explaining that an updated timetable will be published as soon as possible once technical and operational requirements are addressed.
An official from the electoral council speaking anonymously to Agence France-Presse confirmed that members were working to draft a new schedule. The representative emphasized that the December 13 target date no longer applies for conducting the balloting process.
Years of political crisis and violence
Haiti has not held elections since 2016, leaving the Caribbean nation without an elected government. Its last president, Jovenel Moïse, who took office after the 2016 vote, was assassinated by a mercenary group at his private residence in 2021 and was never replaced.
The country has endured a multidimensional political, economic and public security crisis for decades, but conditions have worsened dramatically in recent years. Heavily armed gangs have expanded their influence across the territory, carrying out murders, kidnappings for ransom, looting, rape and the forced recruitment of children.
The International Organization for Migration, the United Nations agency tracking global population movements, reported in June that nearly 1.5 million people out of Haiti's population of approximately 11 million have been internally displaced by violence. The organization warned that criminal violence was expanding beyond the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
Violent attacks have produced high casualty figures across the country. Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated in early October that at least 5,700 people have been killed or injured in Haiti since the start of the current year.
International security mission deployment
To assist local law enforcement, an international mission known as the Gang Suppression Force is undergoing deployment with authorization from the United Nations Security Council. The force was formed to support Haiti's national police, who have lacked the resources to manage armed criminal groups.
Announced operational targets for the security force call for 5,500 uniformed personnel, comprising military and police officers, alongside roughly 50 civilian staff members. However, Mike Waltz, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, stated recently that only 1,500 military personnel have been deployed to date.
