Tuesday, July 20, 2024, the last day of the 47th Ordinary Meeting of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of CARICOM, the Chairman of the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT), Edgard Leblanc Jr. in his intervention stated that the security situation was improving in Haiti thanks to the action of the Haitian National Police (PNH), the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd’H), the army and the support of the Kenyan Mission forces.

"Life is beginning to resume on the streets of the capital and in the rest of the country. In the North and South, approximately 80,000 students in the 9th fundamental year successfully passed their official examinations last week. In parallel, the CPT and the Government are putting in place the necessary structures to allow, at the institutional level, to move towards the elections scheduled for the end of 2025."

The President of the CPT thanked the group of eminent personalities of CARICOM for their support during the negotiations with the actors in Haiti to achieve this Transition. He also announced the upcoming visit to Haiti of these personalities responsible for ensuring the implementation of the Agreement of April 3rd, 2024.

Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders expressed optimism on Tuesday that the situation in Haiti is moving forward and that elections will be held in that country late next year.

"We are very pleased to have made significant progress with Haiti. [...] Caricom has mediated between the Haitian parties to reach an agreement on a political transition and several of its member countries have supported the multilateral mission, led by Kenya, to restore security in Haiti,” Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley told reporters, adding, “Now that the Government is in place, the Electoral Council will be established and then the plan for the actual elections. At this point, there is no timetable or date, but we are working to achieve this within a reasonable time frame."

In this regard, the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, said that he believed that elections could probably take place “before the end of next year."

While acknowledging that the humanitarian situation "continues to be very serious” in Haiti, Gonsalves said that the country is “a better place today than it was two months ago."

SL/ HaitiLibre