Haiti presidential election slated for next month

By Senabri Silvestre

SANTO DOMINGO, Dom. Rep. (AA) – Haiti’s electoral body on Friday announced that a rerun of last year’s presidential elections would begin Nov. 20, according to local media reports.

A total of 27 candidates from different parties are running and a second round will take place Jan. 29, if necessary. Haitians are also voting in legislative polls.

The vote was supposed to be held Oct. 9 but the devastation left by Hurricane Matthew in the south forced authorities to postpone the ballot.

A significant number of voting centers have been destroyed or badly damaged, while others are without access, according to the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), an independent organization tasked with holding the elections.

The CEP emphasized that it has the responsibility to organize elections for all citizens in all departments of the country, so it cannot put away a portion of the population, according to Haiti Free newspaper. It also reiterated its commitment of holding credible and transparent elections.

More than 1.4 million Haitians are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance after the Category 4 storm struck seven of the country’s 10 administrative departments, killing nearly 500 people. Many citizens lost their identity cards during the story.

The October 2015 vote was disqualified by an independent commission due to widespread fraud.