The Bahamas Foreign Minister, Fred Mitchell has issued a statement in response to the decision made in Haiti, to call off its presidential election just two days before it was due to take place on Sunday January 24th. Pierre-Louis Opont, the president of the country’s Provisional Electoral Council, said the decision was taken because there is “too much violence throughout the country”.
Mr. Mitchell said: “The Bahamas wishes that the elections can proceed as soon as possible and that an orderly, peaceful and democratic transition is organized from one administration to the next. The Bahamas continues to monitor events in Haiti with grave concerns and will continue to work within the Caricom and the wider hemispheric context to support democracy in Haiti.”
Mr. Mitchell, recently arrived in Quito, Ecuador for the annual summit of the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC). Upon his arrival on Saturday night, he expressed serious concerns at the deteriorating security situation in Haiti. The Bahamas delegation was briefed last week in Haiti by the United Nations Mission to Haiti along with representatives of the United States, France, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the Organization of American States (OAS) and Brazil and everyone expected that the elections scheduled for today would proceed.
Violence has been ongoing in Haiti where opposition has claimed the earlier round held in October 2015, was marred in fraud to favour Jovenel Moise, a businessman handpicked by outgoing president Mitchel Martely, who is required by the Constitution to leave office by February 7th. This second round vote, originally scheduled for Dec 27th and now again postponed, has not been rescheduled, and the country seems headed to a constitutional crisis. Jude Celestin, a businessman and the opposition candidate in the runoff, who had said he would boycott the election, reportedly has welcomed the decision by the electoral council.
