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Assistant Secretary General Ramdin Reiterates that OAS Is Ready for Elections in Haiti

The Group of Friends of Haiti of the Organization of American States (OAS) met at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC, to review and discuss the preparations for the Haitian general elections and the role of that the OAS, its Member States and the United Nations will play in accompanying Haitian authorities and providing technical electoral support.

OAS Assistant Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin, who chairs the Group of Friends of Haiti, updated the Member States on the joint preparations for the elections undertaken by the OAS and the United Nations, as well as a task force of the international community made up of Haiti, Brazil, Canada, the United States, the United Nations, the OAS, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the European Union.

“The OAS and the United Nations believe that elections can be held from a technical perspective before the end of the year in accordance with the constitution if the necessary political decisions are made in time,” Ambassador Ramdin stated.

The first meeting of the international task force for electoral assistance to Haiti was held May 10 with the objective of defining the scope of activities to be carried out, as well as the challenges ahead and the division of labor between the stakeholders in this process.

Ambassador Ramdin said the OAS contribution to the process of electoral assistance will take place in four areas: registration, processing, printing and distribution of national ID cards; the development or presentation of a voters’ list; the provision of technical assistance, training in the software application Oracle and data-based management for the Provisional Electoral Council; and the establishment and technical support of tabulation centers under the leadership of the Haitian authorities.

The OAS Assistant Secretary General also warned that in addition to technical issues there may be political challenges as the elections, which are set by the Constitution for November 28, the last Sunday of the month, approach.

“There will be political issues coming up over the coming months, especially with the registration of political parties and whether all political parties comply with the law,” Ambassador Ramdin said. “We had a situation with one political party where in absence of a clear leadership several candidate lists were submitted. I hope those issues can be resolved in the intermediate period.”

For his part, Ambassador Duly Brutus, Permanent Representative of Haiti to the OAS, thanked the international community for its support and expressed confidence that current political issues between the stakeholders in the Haitian elections process will resolve themselves in time.

“The Haitian people have clearly demonstrated their commitment to the principle of democracy,” Ambassador Brutus stated. “It is clear that the administration of President Préval knew how to put in place from the beginning of its rise to power the mechanisms that would allow the country and the political forces in it to resolve their differences through dialogue. We believe in the end the different stakeholders will work out their problems among themselves.”

Participating actively in the meeting also were the Director of the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division and Haiti Mission Chief, Tadjoudine Ali-Diabacté; representatives of OAS Member States Brazil, Dominican Republic, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Jamaica and Chile; and OAS Permanent Observers Spain, in the name of the Presidency of the European Union, and France.

Photographs of the event are available here

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org

Reference: E-181/10