Haiti elections remain on hold as gangs adapt to security operations, UN warns

Haiti’s presidential and legislative elections, planned for 13 December, remain postponed indefinitely as armed gangs adapt to security operations and extend violence into rural areas, UN officials told the Security Council on 19 October. The warning raises fresh questions about when the country can hold a credible vote.

Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the UN’s top official in Haiti, warned that gangs were increasing reprisals against civilians as operations intensified. Armed groups were using hostage-taking and intimidation to hold territory and challenge state authority, UN News reported, citing the Secretary-General’s latest report.

Violence spreads beyond Port-au-Prince

Security operations carry risks for civilians, too. Citing the Secretary-General’s report, UN News said security-force operations accounted for 808 people, or 52% of Haitians killed or wounded since the beginning of July. It said 148 of those people were not associated with gangs. Separately, Al Jazeera reported that Ruiz Massieu told the Council more than 1,000 people had been killed and more than 100 abducted between July and September.

Attack on Salvadoran force members

Four Salvadoran members of the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force were missing on 19 October after armed groups attacked their armoured vehicle in Croix-des-Bouquets the previous day. Al Jazeera, in a report credited to its staff and AP, said Salvadoran ambassador Egriselda Lopez told the Council that attackers used firearms and explosives and set the vehicle on fire. No group had claimed responsibility at the time of that report. The personnel’s fate was not immediately clear.

UN News put the force at 1,563 uniformed members as of 12 October, against an authorised strength of 5,550. Al Jazeera separately reported that the force’s special representative, Jack Christofides, said more than 2,000 personnel from six countries had been deployed. He said the force still needed equipment, logistics and funding to expand operations. The figures have different reference points and were reported as separate statements.

No new date for Haiti’s elections

The elections were postponed about two weeks before the Council briefing, UN News reported. Ruiz Massieu cautioned against announcing another date without a realistic assessment of whether voting could take place. Al Jazeera reported his warning that repeated announcements without assessing feasibility would weaken confidence in Haitian institutions. No replacement election date has been announced.

Preparations had begun: more than 35 political parties and groups and 3,500 candidates had registered, UN News reported. As of 5 October, voter lists included 759,257 potential voters out of an estimated electorate of 6.5 million. Nearly 1.5 million people had been displaced from their homes, including more than 740,000 children, underscoring the scale of the disruption facing any vote.