Over half a million voters registered so far to cast ballots in Haiti elections | World News

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) says just over half a million voters have been registered across Haiti as preparations continue for the elections to be held in December this year.

The first round of long-awaited presidential and legislative elections alongside a constitutional referendum are scheduled for December 13, marking the first time Haitians will be casting ballots since 2016 when President Jovenel Moise was elected. Moise was later assassinated on July 7, 2021.

The preliminary results are expected to be published on December 19, with final results for the first round scheduled for January 9, 2027. A second round of presidential and legislative elections, along with local elections, is scheduled for February 21, 2027, with final results for the second round of presidential and legislative elections scheduled for March 7. Final local election results are expected on March 12.

The CEP said that as of September 6 this year, 506,953 persons had been registered since the registration process began on July 20, 2026. The figure represents 12.6 per cent of the CEP’s target of registering four million voters by the October 13 deadline.

The CEP noted that 2,761 operators are currently active in the field and that the logistical infrastructure consists of 1,418 registration centers, of which 1,271 are directly operational.

Registration progress has fluctuated considerably from week to week. After a very slow start at the end of July with only a few hundred applications per day, a first increase appeared at the beginning of August, reaching around 15,000 to 20,000 applications per day.

The influx peaked during the second half of August, registering a maximum of 24,775 applications on August 17, followed by a second surge to 23,783 applications on August 25. But the pace has gradually slowed at the start of this month, falling below 3,000 applications per day by September 6.

There are 257,447 registered men compared to 248,769 registered women. The authorities say that the most represented group is the 39-48 age group with 114,177 registered voters, closely followed by the 29-38 age group with 110,028 registered voters.

Young people aged 18-28 represent 79,811 registered voters, while participation gradually decreases among older age groups, from 90,932 for the 49-58 age group to 44,034 for those 69 and over.

Official figures also show that as of September 3, 2026, only 21 out of 105 approved political organisations have met the requirement of 30,000 endorsements. The final deadline for verification and validation of these lists is October 14, 2026.

With less than four months before the first ballot is cast, Jerry Tardieu, the former deputy for Pétion-Ville, in an open letter addressed to CEP president, Jacques Desrosiers, is seeking details on the modalities planned to allow Haitians living abroad to participate in the next elections.

Tardieu has included in his list of questions, which categories of Haitians living abroad will be able to vote, what will be the conditions and procedures for registration on the electoral lists, what identification documents will be required and in which countries or cities the polling stations will be installed.

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