Haiti moved a step closer to ending nearly 10 years without a national vote after its transitional leadership confirmed on Tuesday that the country plans to hold general elections in August 2026.
The announcement sets the earliest clear timeline for a return to the ballot, even as authorities stress that the polls cannot go ahead without improved security.
A decree released by the Provisional Electoral Council, which is in charge of running the vote, outlined that the first round of the presidential and legislative elections is scheduled for August next year.
Council president Jacques Desrosiers said, “The restoration of security is a prerequisite for holding the first round” of the vote, underscoring the scale of the challenge ahead.
Haiti, already the poorest country in the Americas, has been battling deep political turmoil and rising violence. Conditions worsened in early 2024 when armed groups forced then-prime minister Ariel Henry out of office and expanded their control across large areas of Port-au-Prince.
The country’s last elections were held in October 2016, and its last president, Jovenel Moise, was killed in July 2021. Since then, Haiti has lacked elected national leaders.
The US State Department welcomed the new election plan, urging local political players, civil society groups and international partners to back efforts to stabilise the country.
“The Haitian people have waited for nearly a decade to democratically elect their leadership,” the statement said. It added that a conference will take place in New York on December 9 to “generate force contributions for the Gang Suppression Force.”
The United Nations approved a multinational deployment in 2023 to support Haiti’s police in dealing with gangs. But the mission, which has struggled with limited gear and funding, has delivered mixed outcomes so far.
In September, the UN Security Council endorsed changes that will turn the operation into a stronger anti-gang force.
Haiti is currently run by the Transitional Presidential Council, whose mandate ends in February 2026. Its leader, Laurent Saint-Cyr, said the decree marks an important moment, noting that it “finally offers the Haitian people the opportunity to freely and responsibly choose those who should lead them.”
In a post on X, he added, “By taking this decisive step, while we remain fully committed to restoring security, we reaffirm our commitment to putting Haiti back on the path to democratic legitimacy and stability.”
