Last Thursday, during a presentation of the situation in Haiti at the Security Council of the United Nations, Alain Le Roy, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations stated "recalling that accusations of “massive fraud” had been levelled following the 7 December announcement of results from the first round of Haiti’s presidential election, engendering demonstrations [...] It is of paramount importance that the current political crisis is brought to a swift conclusion so that the Government and people of Haiti can focus on the challenges of reconstruction and recovery."

He said that Haitian President, René Préval, had invited in mid-December a mission of electoral experts of the Organization of American States (OAS), which issued on January 13 a report on the progress of the first round and the counting of votes and counting ballots.

The OAS experts recommend, based on the "important" irregularities in the counting of votes, that the candidate is disqualified Jude Célestin be disqualified and replaced in the second round by the candidate who came third, the popular singer Michel Martelly.

In this context, the Under-Secretary-General, estimated that "the Provisional Electoral Council must honour its commitment to take fully into account the recommendations contained in that mission’s report, with a view to ensuring that the election results truly reflected the will of the Haitian people", before adding that if the "the [Provisional Electoral Council] decide otherwise, Haiti may well be faced with a constitutions crisis"

"At this crucial moment, it is essential that the CEP can do its work without political interference; I urges the Member States to continue working with all parties to ensure that the Provisional Electoral Council was able to steer the process towards a credible outcome", he concluded.

See also:

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2153-haiti-elections-official-position-of-the-cep-on-the-oas-report.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2158-haiti-elections-some-key-pages-from-the-final-report-of-the-oas.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-1919-haiti-elections-oas-sends-two-assistance-missions-at-the-request-of-president-preval.html

HL/ HaitiLibre