Friday, in the perspective of legislative and local elections of 29 January, the leaders of the Steering Committee of the Citizen Observatory for the Institutionalization of Democracy (OCID) met, on the one hand, academics and opinion leaders and, on the other, members of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) around the experience of Systematic Electoral Observation, particularly the parallel and quick counting of voting trends.

During these two meetings, Rosny Desroches, a member of the Steering Committee, reminded the observatory bet to enhance the use of scientific methods at the service of politics to the detriment of subjectivity and inconsistency, while seeking the contribution of the interlocutors in this fight.

Neil Nevitt, Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto and consultant to the National Democratic Institute (NDI), explained the stages of systematic observation, from the determination of a sample polling station to the publication of the data collected.

Highlight of these exchanges was the presentation by Professor Nevitt of the results of the "Quick Count" carried out discreetly by the OCID during the presidential election of 20 November 2016, substantially matching to those published by the CEP.

The reactions of the participants were rather positive. Several officials of State structures and of the society have renewed their commitment to advocate for the modernization of political life through the use of scientific processes, such as surveys and polls.

This Monday, January 16, it will be the turn of the leaders of political parties to exchange with the leaders of the OCID about the actions to institutionalize democracy in Haiti.

HL/ HaitiLibre