reign delay
haiti's election postponed...again

February 4, 2016 - While primary voters in Iowa narrowly avoided a blizzard that might have delayed their vote, a political storm in Haiti postponed the island nation's presidential election for a third time. President Michel Martelly is due to leave office in less than 2 weeks, but violence and fear of electoral fraud caused the government to postpone last Sunday’s vote indefinitely. If no successor is chosen before the president’s term ends, a constitutional crisis will follow.

Even if the election had gone ahead, a crisis might have been unavoidable. One of the two presidential candidates was boycotting the election because he had no confidence that it would be carried out fairly. Can an election between two candidates be held if one party does not recognize the legitimacy of the outcome?

Haitian President Michel Martelly

what would wyclef do?

Former Fugees singer and 2010 presidential candidate Wyclef Jean

In 2010, Michel Martelly rode a popular wave of support to become Haiti’s 56th president. His resume included a music career performing under the name “Sweet Micky.” As a musician, he was featured on one of Wyclef Jean’s albums, and as a politician, the Fugees singer endorsed his run for president. (Wyclef himself had tried to run for president but, despite being Haitian born, was disqualified because of the nation’s residency requirements).

Fast forward to the present and Martelly’s term is almost up. Prevented from running again because of term limits, he endorsed his protégé Jovenel Moïse to succeed him. During the first round of elections in October 2015, Moïse did his mentor proud and finished first place with 32% of the vote. However, many of Moïse’s competitors (there were over 50 candidates running for president in the first round) cried foul. They claimed that voters had been intimidated, ballots thrown out, and polling places in competitive areas closed early. The man who finished second, Jude Célestin, vowed that, despite being eligible to run against Moïse in the second round, he would boycott rather than be party to a fraudulent contest.

Allegations of election fraud are not unheard of in Haitian politics. President Martelly himself only won the 2010 election after a lawsuit overturned the results and allowed him to proceed to the second round. But rising distrust in the electoral process is beginning to tear the nation apart. Only 26% of eligible voters even bothered to cast a vote in the first round last year. If voting isn’t seen as an effective means to enact governmental change, other (less peaceful) ways become the only alternative.

The international community is pressuring Haiti to schedule the election as soon as possible, but the foundational mistrust in the process must be addressed. Of course, it’s up to the Haitian people to decide who will lead them—however, if you’re curious about what Wyclef Jean thinks, he’s forsaken Martelly’s party and is urging voters to elect Célestin.