Haiti’s High-Stakes Bet: Elections Amidst the Chaos

Despite the fact that armed gangs currently control nearly 90% of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s police chief, André Jonas Vladimir Paraison, has confirmed that the country is moving forward with a plan to hold its first general elections in over a decade.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

The Roadmap for 2026

The Provisional Electoral Council has laid out a strict timeline to transition the country back to a functional democracy:

• Candidate Window: Registration opens March 2 – 12, 2026.
• First Round: Scheduled for August 30, 2026.
• Final Runoff: Set for December 6, 2026.

The Security Strategy

Chief Paraison claims his department is “cooking” a security strategy to reclaim enough territory for safe voting. This plan relies heavily on two pillars:

1. Increased Recruitment: Rapidly scaling up the National Police force to guard polling stations.
2. The GSF Factor: The U.N.-authorized Gang Suppression Force (GSF) is slated for full deployment by April 2026, aiming to break the Viv Ansanm coalition’s grip on the capital.

Why Skepticism is High

While the plan looks good on paper, the reality on the ground is grim. With over 1.4 million people displaced and gangs pushing further into the Artibonite region, many wonder how a credible vote can happen when citizens are afraid to leave their homes. The transition from the Presidential Council to Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé was meant to provide stability, but the political climate remains as fractured as the streets.

The Bottom Line: Haiti is attempting to vote its way out of a crisis, but the success of the August polls depends entirely on whether the police and international forces can win a war against the gangs in the next five months.