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Updated January 6, 2017
Haiti Declares Winner of Presidential Election After Delays
On January 3, 2017, Haiti's electoral council declared
political novice Jovenel Moise the winner of its November
2016 presidential elections. Elections had been delayed
repeatedly, leaving Haiti without an elected president for
almost a year. The inauguration will probably be held on
the constitutionally mandated date of February 7.
Final results show Moise of the Bald Head Party (PHTK,
former President Michel Martelly's party), an agricultural
exporter, won with almost 56% of the vote. Voter turnout
was 21%. Jude C6lestin received about 20% of the valid
vote; Moise Jean-Charles won 11%; and Maryse Narcysse,
of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas
party, garnered 9%. Those three candidates filed
complaints; after a formal appeals process, the provisional
electoral council (CEP) announced final results on January
3. Because Moise still has more than 50% of the vote and/or
25% more than the next candidate, no run-off vote will be
necessary. Run-off elections for some parliamentary and
local elections will be held on January 29, 2017.
Contested positions in November included the presidency,
with 27 candidates; 10 Senate seats, with 116 candidates;
and some disputed seats in both chambers from earlier
elections. One legislator is sure to cause particular concern
for the United States. Guy Philippe, a former coup leader,
was elected to the Senate for a six-year term. He is wanted
by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for alleged
drug trafficking and money laundering. Philippe is
reportedly allied with president-elect Moise's PHTK.
The new president will take over the poorest country in the
hemisphere, plagued by high political tensions, security
concerns, low economic growth, a cholera epidemic, and
greatly reduced foreign aid.
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Haiti has been without an elected president since February
2016. After the Haitian government failed to complete a
cycle of elections, including a second round of presidential
voting at the end of 2015, former President Michel Martelly
ended his term without an elected successor. The legislature
named Senate President Jocelerme Privert interim
president, to ensure that second-round presidential elections
took place in April 2016 and a new president was installed
in May. Privert established a verification commission to
investigate opposition-party charges of electoral fraud; the
commission called for the first round of the presidential
election to be re-held. Some international observers
disagreed with the need to re-hold the presidential election
but acknowledged a potential political need to re-hold the
election due to public perceptions of its legitimacy.
Meanwhile, Privert's term expired on June 14, 2016, and
the Haitian legislature has repeatedly failed to vote on
extending his mandate or appointing another provisional
president. The Obama Administration has said it will
continue to recognize Privert until another official is
named. Violent attacks against candidates, a police station,
and businesses have added to concerns over stability.
U.S. Special Coordinator for Haiti Kenneth Merten said in
October that the United States hoped Haiti would hold
credible elections so that there would be a democratically
elected government from top to bottom to deal with ... on
things like recovering from [Hurricane Matthew], and the
recovery work that still needs to be done after the
devastating 2010 earthquake.
The Obama Administration welcomed the holding of the
November elections and issuance of the results as important
steps toward returning Haiti to full constitutional rule.
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Haiti has been slowly transitioning from centuries of
authoritarian rule to a democratic government over the past
30 years. Progress has been made in developing democratic
institutions, but-as evident in the electoral delays-these
institutions remain weak. During this period, elections have
been sources of increased political tensions and instability
in the short term. Haiti's current electoral problems are part
of a troubled process extending back for years, due to the
failures of previous governments to hold a series of
presidential and legislative elections for prolonged periods.
We congratulate President-elect Jovenel Moise on his
first-round victory and look forward to working
closely with him as we strengthen our longstanding
partnership with Haiti. We urge all actors to accept
the final results, refrain from violence, and work
together to build a stable and prosperous Haiti.
U.S. Department of State Spokesperson, January 3, 2017
In the long term, elected governments in Haiti have
contributed to the gradual strengthening of government
capacity and transparency. Still, in the present
circumstances, the international community has expressed
concern that continual delays have hampered the Haitian
government's ability to function, decreased the public's
faith in public institutions, exacerbated political
polarization, and threatened stability.
A key problem has been the lack of a permanent electoral
council, which the 1987 Haitian constitution established as
the body responsible for setting dates for and organizing
new elections. There has never been a permanent council,
only provisional ones. Nine elements of the Haitian
government and civil society were supposed to propose the
council members. Delayed elections contributed to the
problem; without a full government in place, some of those
entities were not able to name their nominees, so temporary
councils were formed. The formation of each electoral
council involved political disputes, and each council was
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