The President of the CEP, Jacques Desrosiers
Port-au-Prince, August 4, 2026.- Guest of the show Panel Magik on Magik 9 on Tuesday, August 4, the President of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), Jacques Desrosiers, reported on the progress of the electoral process. He announced that 870 registration centres are already operational, set a target of 3 to 4 million registered voters by 13 October and presented the main innovations planned for the upcoming elections, while recognizing the challenges of insecurity.
The President of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), Jacques Desrosiers, is confident about the evolution of the electoral process in Haiti. In his speech on Magik 9, he said that 870 registration centres were already operating across the country and that their number continues to increase at the pace of improving access conditions in several areas.
According to him, the voter registration operation, launched on 20 July, will continue until 13 October. The CEP hopes to register between 3 and 4 million voters, while the National Identification Office (ONI) estimates the number of holders of a national identification card at about 6.5 million.
Jacques Desrosiers, however, acknowledged that insecurity remains a major obstacle, particularly in several municipalities in the departments of West and Artibonite. He assured that the CEP would gradually adapt its deployment to the return of State institutions and the improvement of the security situation in order to enable citizens in the areas concerned to register.
The President of the CEP also announced several innovations aimed at strengthening the credibility of the election. These include the use of digital tablets for voter registration, the electronic transmission of results, the establishment of departmental tabulation offices and the strengthening of mechanisms to deal with electoral disputes.
Regarding Haitians living abroad, Jacques Desrosiers confirmed that the CEP intends to initiate the diaspora vote during this electoral cycle. Consultations with Haitian communities abroad are planned in August and September to define the modalities of this first experiment.
The electoral officer also reported that the election budget was reduced from $250 million to $120 million after discussions with the Government. He explained that this amount could be revised if the needs of the process so require and that acquisitions related to electoral operations would be carried out with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), focusing, where possible, on local suppliers.
W.A.
