Elections in Haiti

Haiti’s election system is based on the 1987 Constitution as amended in 2011, the Electoral Decree of 2 June 2026 and its amendment of 2 July 2026. The CEP, or Conseil Électoral Provisoire, plans, organizes and controls national elections through result proclamation. Its administrative network includes departmental and operational election offices, polling institutions, counting and tabulation bodies, and electoral courts. The president is elected nationwide by direct vote. A candidate needs an absolute majority of 50% plus one vote; if no candidate reaches it, the two leading candidates compete in a second round. Each department elects three senators. A Senate candidate can win with an absolute majority or a lead of at least 25%; otherwise, a second round can involve the six leading candidates, while voters choose three. Future Senate mandates are staggered for six, four and two years. Deputies are elected in constituencies under a 50% plus one or 25%-lead rule, with a possible runoff. Territorial and indirect elections follow separate procedures. The CEP calendar sets 13 December 2026 for the first round of the presidential and legislative elections and for popular ratification of limited constitutional amendments. The second round and territorial elections are scheduled for 21 February 2027. These dates depend on acceptable security conditions and sufficient financing, so they are not guaranteed. Candidate registration was extended on 2 September 2026. Online registration runs from 20 August to 20 September, document submission from 13 to 22 September, verification from 13 to 28 September, and the final candidate list is scheduled for 14 October after objections before the BCEC, BCED and BCEN. Voters generally need to be at least 18, hold Haitian citizenship and full civil and political rights, appear in the electoral register and have a valid CIN, the national identification card issued through the Office National d’Identification (ONI). Voter registration uses a CIV, or Centre d’Inscription et de Vérification, together with the CIN. Registration began on 20 July in main towns across nine of the ten departments, while the Ouest department was initially excluded for security reasons. About 1,200 CIVs were reported by 1 September. No CEP voter fee has been published, but people may still face unquantified costs for identification and travel. Around one million CINs were reported as missing, while OAS and Japanese support was intended to provide 350,000 biometric cards and mobile registration. At a polling station, the CEP assigns each voter to a CIV or bureau. The voter presents the electoral card and CIN, undergoes register and duplicate-voting checks, receives one ballot for each office and marks the selected circle, photograph, emblem or number in a compulsory secret booth. The voter places each ballot in the relevant box, receives indelible ink and signs or provides a fingerprint in the NINU register. The CEP has planned wider access to polling centres in areas affected by insecurity. Diaspora registration and possible voting abroad were under consultation in August 2026, but an operational overseas voting procedure had not been fully established by 9 September 2026. After voting, the bureau counts ballots and prepares a procès-verbal with one original and five copies. The original goes to the BED, an electronic photograph goes to the BDTV, one copy goes to the CTV, one to the BEC, one is posted publicly and two go to representatives of the first- and second-ranked candidates. The CTV and BDTV tabulate results. Preliminary results are subject to review and publication, while objections proceed through the BCEC, BCED and BCEN, with the BCEN as the final electoral court. The CEP then validates and proclaims the final results, audits the process and maintains the electoral register. Voting is a universal and secret civic duty, but access can fail when a voter lacks a CIN, is absent from the register or has suspended civil or political rights. Electoral fraud, false statements, violence and breaches of campaign spending rules can lead to sanctions. The CEP’s candidate process also includes party or group recognition, registration fees of 2,000,000 HTG for the presidency, 800,000 HTG for the Senate and 300,000 HTG for a deputy seat, plus documents such as a notarized declaration concerning relevant convictions or imprisonment, a possible asset declaration and a medical certificate from MSPP. Certain CEP and public structures apply a 30% quota for women, and disabled candidates receive priority when competence is equal. The main practical constraints remain security, financing, identification and registration capacity, access in Ouest, candidate review and the unfinished diaspora voting mechanism.