Haiti’s Dec. 13 vote postponed as gangs adapt, UN told

Haiti has postponed its Dec. 13 presidential and legislative elections indefinitely, the UN’s top official in the country told the Security Council on Oct. 19, as gangs adapt their tactics against a foreign-backed force that has only about 28 per cent of its authorized strength.

The Gang Suppression Force had 1,563 uniformed members as of Oct. 12, against the 5,550 the Security Council authorized, according to UN News’s account of the briefing. Nearly 1.5 million people, including more than 740,000 children, have fled their homes.

Carlos Ruiz Massieu, who briefed the council, said the vote was called off about two weeks earlier. He warned against naming new dates too quickly.

“Setting new dates for elections without a realistic assessment of their feasibility will only erode public confidence and the credibility of Haitian institutions,” Ruiz Massieu said, according to UN News.

He said gangs are changing how they fight. “What is particularly worrying is the gangs’ ability to adapt their tactics as security operations intensify,” Ruiz Massieu said. “Experience has shown that security operations alone cannot bring about lasting stabilisation.”

UN News reported that gang-related violence killed 1,123 people and injured 440 between July and early October. It said 689 women and girls were reportedly raped by gang members in July and August.

Security force operations accounted for 52 per cent of those killed or wounded since early July, or 808 people, the UN said. That total includes 148 people who had no link to gangs.

Gangs have spread into rural areas, with attacks reported in Saint-Michel-de-l’Atalaye, Marigot and Léogâne. In one attack on Aug. 23 and 24 in Kenscoff, at least 47 people were killed, 22 were wounded and 52 were taken hostage, UN News said. Thirteen of the hostages were later freed.

The briefing came a day after an armoured vehicle carrying Salvadoran soldiers was attacked in Croix-des-Bouquets on Oct. 18. UN News said four soldiers were still missing on Monday, citing media reports. JURIST reported their whereabouts remain unknown, and WLRN described an apparent abduction of four Salvadoran military aviation technicians, and possibly a fifth. The reports differ on details, and the soldiers’ status has not been independently confirmed.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said, according to WLRN: “The Gang Suppression Force is coming for you.”

Preparations for the vote had advanced on paper. UN News said 759,257 potential voters were on the lists as of Oct. 5, out of an estimated electorate of 6.5 million. More than 35 political parties and groups and 3,500 candidates had registered.

No new date exists. Jocelyn McCalla, executive director of the Haitian-American Foundation for Democracy, told WLRN that elections will “probably” be held in the third or fourth quarter of 2027 “at best.” That is his estimate, not an official date.

The Canadian connection runs through sanctions and diaspora. WLRN reported that former president Michel Martelly, who lives in Miami and denies the allegations, has been sanctioned by the United States, Canada and the European Union over alleged drug trafficking, money laundering and sponsoring violent gangs. He has registered as a presidential candidate, and the election commission has said he can be disqualified only after a felony conviction.

Canada is also home to a large Haitian community, and advocates have warned of more Haitians seeking to come to Canada. Canada News Media has reported on advocates’ expectations of more arrivals after a U.S. court decision and on preparations for a possible influx of Haitian asylum seekers.

The 2026 humanitarian plan for Haiti is about half funded, and the economy is expected to contract for a seventh straight year, UN News reported. The council is expected to keep weighing how to support the force as the election timetable stays open.

Via UN News, JURIST and WLRN.

If you find reporting like this useful, consider supporting Canada News Media, an independent Canadian newsroom with no corporate parent.