On Nov. 24, Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) issued its definitive results for the Oct. 25 presidential election, ruling that the Haitian Bald Headed Party’s (PHTK) Jovenel Moïse, with 508,761 votes (32.76%) would go to a second round with the Alternative League for Progress and Haitian Emancipation’s (LAPEH) Jude Célestin, with 392,782 votes (25.29%).

The decision comes after the CEP’s National Electoral Complaints and Challenges Bureau (BCEN) made minor changes to voter tallies (procès verbaux) after a weekend review in response to complaints by fourth-placed Maryse Narcisse of the Lavalas Family Political Organization and another minor candidate.

The BCEN disqualified another 7,500 votes, bringing the total votes counted down from 1,560,631 to 1,533,131. But the reduction did nothing to change the standing of the 54 presidential candidates, and the BCEN rejected the FL’s request that Jovenel Moïse be disqualified for fraud and that the elections be reheld.

The same day as the final results’ announcement, the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) and International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) issued a report on the national elections’ first and second rounds – held Aug. 9 and Oct. 25 – saying that “they fell far short of minimum standards for fair elections.”

“Without major corrective measures, these elections will represent a significant setback in Haiti’s long struggle to consolidate democracy,” the report concluded.

We publish here the Executive Summary of the 27-page report, which was written by an election observation team composed of four international observers accredited by the CEP. The team visited 15 voting centers, accounting for a total of 480 polling stations, in Port-au-Prince and its environs on Oct. 25 as well as surveying about 4,500 Haitians by phone about irregularities and incidents they may have witnessed.

Report of the National Lawyers Guild and International Association of Democratic Lawyers Delegation on the October 25, 2015, Presidential and Legislative Elections in Haiti

Executive Summary:

Haitian voters were called to the polls on Oct. 25, 2015 to elect the country’s next President, two-thirds of the Senate, all 119 members of the House of Deputies and all local mayors. The Oct. 25 elections were less violent than the first round of legislative elections of Aug. 9, 2015, but they fell far short of minimum standards for fair elections. Haitians’ voting rights were violated through a combination of intimidation, irregularities and fraud that began before Oct. 25 and continued through the publication of results. The vast majority of registered voters — over 70% — did not vote; many expressed fear or lost confidence in the electoral process. Ordinary voters faced intimidation, illegal influencing and privacy violations. A large percentage of ballots were cast using political party accreditations, which allow voting outside the rules applicable to regular voters, representing a major opportunity for fraud. A lack of transparency in the tabulation process has raised significant questions about whether votes have been properly counted and verified for fraud.

Without major corrective measures, these elections will represent a significant setback in Haiti’s long struggle to consolidate democracy.

Impact of the Turbulent Aug. 9 Elections

The Oct. 25 elections were built on the precarious foundation of Haiti’s Aug. 9 legislative elections, which were marred by massive disorder, delays, and serious irregularities, including:

●   Incidents of violence, fraud and voter intimidation at 40 to 67.8% of voting centers, with 196 of 1508 centers (13%) forced to suspend voting due to such incidents;

●   The disenfranchisement of an estimated 315,000 voters, as a result of nearly a quarter of tally sheets (23%) from polling stations being destroyed, lost or excluded due to fraud and other detected irregularities; and

●   Low voter turnout, which was only 18% nationwide and dropped to 10% in the Ouest Department, home to over 40% of Haiti’s registered voters.

Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) made some improvements in terms of organization and security from Aug. 9 to Oct. 25, but those changes were not enough to prevent the massive irregularities and fraud of the previous election from spilling over into Oct. 25.  The CEP largely failed to hold accountable candidates and parties that engaged in violence, voter intimidation and fraud on Aug. 9, sending a message to perpetrators and voters alike that “crime pays.”  The climate of impunity fostered by the CEP eroded confidence in the CEP itself and in the electoral process more generally. Even more troubling, the integrity of the electoral results of the first-round legislative races was undermined by the fraud, calling into question the legitimacy of the second-round race.

Election Delegation Observations of Oct. 25th

A delegation of election monitors from the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) spent two weeks in Haiti prior to the vote and observed the Oct. 25 electoral process at 15 voting centers in the greater Port-au-Prince region.

The observation team made the following observations:

1.  Low voter turnout. In what was a crucial election for Haiti’s political future, only 26.6% of registered voters cast a ballot on Oct. 25. Many voters, anticipating a repeat of Aug. 9, stayed away either due to a fear of violence at the polls or the expectation that voting was futile because the votes would not be counted. Turnout in previous presidential elections has been much higher, reaching 59.2% in 2006, 60.3% in 2000, and 50.2% in 1990. On Oct. 25, turnout was comparable to that of 2010, when elections marred by widespread fraud were held after an earthquake and amid the beginning of a cholera crisis.

2.  A large number of the votes cast on Oct. 25 were potentially fraudulent. Haitian observers documented the widespread use of observer and political party accreditations to cast multiple fraudulent votes. The CEP printed and distributed 915,675 accreditations for political party representatives (‘mandataires’) and several thousand more observer accreditations, which allow the possessor to vote in any polling station without being on the voter list. Such “off-list” votes potentially account for as much as 60% of the 1,538,393 votes cast in the presidential election. In the days before the election, a black market for these accreditations developed, with passes being sold for as little as $3. The delegation witnessed polling stations packed with mandataires, so much so that the Oct. 25 election has been dubbed a “mandataire election.”

3. Widespread irregularities due to lack of or inconsistent application of voting procedures.  The observation team also witnessed a number of voting irregularities on Oct. 25, including voter influencing and intimidation, inadequate assistance for confused voters, difficulties for voters in finding out where to vote, and insufficient privacy safeguards.

Protests have spread throughout Haiti since the publication of preliminary results placing the ruling party-backed presidential candidate Jovenel Moïse in first place and Jude Celestin in second place. The United States and its allies in the international community (“the Core Group”) have accepted the announced results and called on Haitians to do the same, emphasizing the need for political stability in order for the country to move forward.

Real stability in Haiti can only be achieved through free and fair elections. Unrest is likely to continue unless Haitian voters’ concerns about fraud are addressed and their faith in the electoral process is restored. If the problems observed on Oct. 25 are not dealt with transparently and honestly, Haiti’s next government will lack the democratic legitimacy necessary to govern.

Recommendations:

1.       Improved voter access, including through provision of: more neutral election observers to assist voters (orienteurs); standardized indelible ink procedures; more training for poll workers; improved voter registration processes; additional polling stations to allow convenient access to vote; improved voter privacy safeguards; and voter awareness campaigns.

2.       An independent and in-depth investigation into the fraud witnessed by election observers to determine its scale and impact on the Oct. 25 election results, with particular attention paid to the issue of fraudulent multiple voting by mandataires and national observers. All elections should be re-run unless the investigation establishes that voters were able to vote freely, and that the results accurately reflect the voters’ choices.

3.       A thorough investigation of political parties, candidates and other individuals implicated in election-related violence and fraud to put an end to impunity and to determine the credibility of both the Aug. 9 and Oct. 25 electoral results. Where necessary, judicial proceedings must be initiated against perpetrators of election abuses.

4.       Coherence, consistency and transparency in all rulings and directives by the Provisional Electoral Council, as well as Departmental and National Offices of Electoral Litigation, the BCEN and BCED.