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Nicole Phillips, Esq.
Staff Attor­ney, Insti­tute for Jus­tice & Democ­racy in Haiti
Nicole@ijdh.org
510–715-2855

Report Issued on the Role of the Inter­na­tional Com­mu­nity in Ensur­ing Fair Elec­tions in Haiti

A com­pre­hen­sive report released today out­lines the his­tory of dis­puted elec­tions in Haiti, the need for fair and inclu­sive elec­tions to take place this year, and the obsta­cles faced in con­duct­ing such elec­tions.

(San Fran­cisco, CA, July 6, 2010) In response to Hait­ian Pres­i­dent Rene Préval’s recent rejec­tion of rec­om­men­da­tions from the U.S. Sen­ate on hold­ing fair elec­tions, the Insti­tute for Jus­tice & Democ­racy in Haiti (IJDH) has issued a report enti­tled “The Inter­na­tional Com­mu­nity Should Pres­sure the Hait­ian Gov­ern­ment for Prompt and Fair Elec­tions.” The report con­tains con­crete rec­om­men­da­tions on what steps the inter­na­tional com­mu­nity should take to ensure that elec­tions in Haiti are fair, inclu­sive and con­sti­tu­tional. It ana­lyzes in depth the con­sti­tu­tional pro­vi­sions that have to do with elec­tion law, and explains the mechan­ics of elec­tions in Haiti. In par­tic­u­lar, the report calls for reform of Haiti’s Pro­vi­sional Elec­toral Coun­cil (CEP), the body respon­si­ble for orga­niz­ing elections.

The CEP was named by Pres­i­dent Rene Preval from lists of can­di­dates pro­vided to him by selected sec­tors of Hait­ian soci­ety. It has been the tar­get of crit­i­cism from across Haiti’s polit­i­cal spec­trum since Novem­ber 2009, when it ordered the exclu­sion of 14 polit­i­cal par­ties from elec­tions with­out pro­vid­ing ade­quate legal jus­ti­fi­ca­tion. More recently, CEP mem­bers have been involved in cor­rup­tion scan­dals and inter­nal disputes.

The IJDH report details how the CEP’s exclu­sion of polit­i­cal par­ties vio­lated vot­ers’ rights guar­an­teed by both domes­tic and inter­na­tional law. Despite the con­tro­versy sur­round­ing the CEP, Hait­ian Pres­i­dent Preval stated last week that he would not com­ply with a rec­om­men­da­tion from U.S. Sen­a­tor Richard Lugar to recon­struct the CEP and allow the par­tic­i­pa­tion of Fanmi Lavalas, Haiti’s largest polit­i­cal party. IJDH’s sis­ter orga­ni­za­tion in Haiti, the Bureau des Avo­cats Inter­na­tionaux (BAI), has worked with excluded par­ties from across the polit­i­cal spectrum.“The exclu­sions are arbi­trary and uncon­sti­tu­tional,” said Mario Joseph, Av., Man­ag­ing Attor­ney of the BAI, “With­out inclu­sive elec­tions, Haiti can­not move for­ward. This report clar­i­fies the need for fair elec­tions and the steps that must be taken to meet that need.”

The IJDH report empha­sizes the stake that the inter­na­tional com­mu­nity holds in Haiti’s elec­tions, and in ensur­ing that such unlaw­ful elec­tions do not occur again. “The inter­na­tional com­mu­nity must ensure fair elec­tions in Haiti in order to pro­tect its invest­ment in Haiti’s recon­struc­tion,” said IJDH Staff Attor­ney Nicole Phillips, Esq. “In the wake of the earth­quake, there must be polit­i­cal account­abil­ity for the expen­di­ture of relief funds.” Brian Con­can­non, Esq., Direc­tor and co-Founder of IJDH, added that exclu­sive elec­tions “threaten not only Haiti’s democ­racy and sta­bil­ity, but bil­lions in for­eign invest­ments financed by tax­pay­ers in the United States and else­where.” The report pro­vides detailed infor­ma­tion and analy­sis on how to best pro­tect the rights of Hait­ian vot­ers and the invest­ment of the inter­na­tional com­mu­nity in “build­ing Haiti back bet­ter.”

About the Organizations

The Insti­tute for Jus­tice & Democ­racy in Haiti (IJDH), estab­lished in 2004, fights for human rights and jus­tice in Haiti and for fair and just treat­ment of Haitians in the United States.

The Bureau des Avo­cats Inter­na­tionaux (BAI), Haiti’s lead­ing human rights law firm, has helped poor Haitians fight for jus­tice since 1995.

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