The elections scheduled for December 27 “cannot take place mathematically, because the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) is not technically ready for elections to be held,” former CEP official Marie Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue said yesterday. Lassegue said that as a result the elections must be delayed once again and consequently, the February 7 deadline for the official transfer of power will also have to be postponed. The following is the text of report from the “Morning Newscast,” broadcast by Haitian Metropole radio on November 24:
The leader of the Women’s Collective for Participation in Political Affairs, Fanm Yo La, Marie Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue, said that it was impossible for the CEP to hold elections this year if it is just a matter of respecting the February 7 deadline. Lassegue, a former secretary-general of the CEP, is in favor of a true dialogue among the interim government, the electoral institution and the political class to postpone the election dates, as well as the February 7 deadline for the transfer of power.
“It is obvious that the technical issues show that these elections cannot take place. So it is necessary for the government to sit with the CEP and inform the political parties. What we in Fanm Yo La propose is this: Just as there was an April 4 accord, there should now be another accord declaring that the transfer of power can no longer take place on February 7. So the CEP and the government can sit with the advisers who support the electoral process, the international community, for example, and postpone the election dates. They could then make sure that we can get back on our feet so that in another five years the transfer of power can be done on February 7.”
Rotchild Francois, Radio Metropole: “If elections are held at the end of December, do you think that this will be a fiasco technically and that the integrity of the elections will be disputed?”
Marie Lassegue: “According to a study we carried out in recent days, according to the data and information that we have, the elections just cannot take place. These elections cannot take place mathematically because the CEP is not technically ready for elections to be held. Actually, it is not a matter of giving a blank check to the CEP and trusting that it will organize elections in three months while we sit by and do nothing. No, we must make sure that preparations are made. Even though the Haitian government cannot give a date now, it should intervene and explain to the people that elections cannot take place and that the symbolic and constitutional date of February 7 cannot be respected. The government should propose an agreement, because we must not violate the constitution. Therefore, the authorities should propose an agreement with the political class, an agreement that would be signed by all the players. In this way, the CEP and the electoral technicians would have time to work with serenity. The government would have to grant the promised financial aid, because it is obvious that the candidates are exhausted. So, the financial aid should be given to the candidates via the political parties. The candidates would then be able to reconsider their electoral campaign calendar. In this case, there would not be any demobilization of the political class, of the candidates, or the Haitian electorate.”