Wednesday at a press conference, Kenneth Merten, Haiti Special Coordinator and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State spoke about Haiti's Roadmap towards the completion of electoral cycle.

"I think we – the United States has been interested in Haiti for – and in democracy in Haiti for a long time. And I think we recently welcomed this February 5th agreement that President Martelly and the presidents of the two chambers of parliament came to. I think we recognize that challenges remain, as Haiti moves towards the completion of its electoral cycle with voting due to take place on April 24th. But the success of the February 5th agreement between these parties depends on the interim leadership’s commitment to implement the terms of the agreement on the timeline that’s outlined in it. Our goal here is to, again, to ensure that the Haitian people have a chance to have their voice heard about who determines their leadership. Their voice has already been heard in terms of populating both the upper and lower house, largely, of parliament, and the presidential election process now needs to run its course.

As one of Haiti’s many international partners, the role of the U.S. is to support and strengthen democracy in Haiti. And we’ve been active in doing that in many different ways for over 30 years. For Haiti’s many challenges, fully functioning and legitimate democratic institutions will also facilitate and make more sustainable the work of the United States and our other international partners, with the goal of improving the quality of life and improving economic opportunity for Haitians. We support the expeditious conclusion of this electoral process with an outcome, as I said, that reflects the will and the desire of the Haitian people.

The upcoming elections and the incorporation of the recommended steps by the Independent Electoral Evaluation Commission to improve the transparency and fairness of this third round of presidential – of the elections will enhance citizens’ overall confidence, we believe. And the swift convocation by the provisional president of concerned sectors within society to designate new members of the provisional electoral council we think is very important because it will give this new CEP a chance to learn their jobs, learn – time to learn to avoid mistakes that have been made in previous CEPs.

So again, once again, we support, the United States supports credible, transparent, and secure elections that reflect the will of the Haitian people, and we believe that only a democratically elected government provides the legal legitimacy to govern Haiti and provides the Haitian people with the transparency we certainly believe that they deserve."

HL/ HaitiLibre