Haiti signs $3M OAS-Japan deal to expand ID system ahead of December elections
The agreement will fund 350,000 biometric ID cards and update the voter roll as an OAS delegation presses for security and credible elections.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Japan and the Organization of American States (OAS) signed a $3 million agreement Tuesday to expand Haiti's identification system as the country prepares for elections scheduled for Dec. 13, according to The Haitian Times and Haiti Libre. The funding will help update the electoral registry, issue 350,000 new biometric identification cards, support public awareness campaigns and expand mobile registration units in remote and vulnerable communities, the OAS said. The deal was signed during OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin's Aug. 16-19 visit, where a high-level Inter-American delegation met with Haitian officials led by Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, security leaders and international partners. "This new contribution will help us update the electoral registry and provide 350,000 new biometric identification cards," Ramdin wrote on X. The agreement builds on a 2023 OAS-Japan initiative that registered more than 1.07 million people and issued 1.22 million cards, according to Ramdin. The initiative comes amid serious security challenges: international officials cited say more than 85% of Port-au-Prince is under armed-group control and over 1.4 million people are displaced nationwide. The delegation also discussed the Gang Suppression Force and the P4000 police-training program. Haiti additionally signed two agreements with the CAF development bank during the visit.