Haitian PM Reaffirms Elections Will Be Held This Year, With First Vote Set for Dec. 13

Haiti's Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé reaffirmed that the country will hold elections this year, with the first round scheduled for Dec. 13, the newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported and almomento.net cited on Aug. 14. Speaking in the southern region of Mélinette during the inauguration of rebuilt facilities at the Bon Berger Evangelical College, destroyed by the 2021 earthquake, Fils-Aimé called on all sectors, especially young people, to take part in the process. "I guarantee you there will be elections, whether some like it or not," he said, according to the report. His government has faced difficulties organizing the year-end vote alongside the Provisional Electoral Council amid a broader crisis fueled by armed groups. During a tour of the country, the prime minister urged authorities, education leaders, students and community members to support the process, encouraging citizens to register to vote or to run for office. He lamented a lack of officials in the south capable of defending regional interests and pressed young people to "take the reins of their country and their destiny." Electoral authorities have so far approved 17 coalitions grouping 228 candidate parties, under Article 129 of the electoral decree published June 2. The report is single-sourced and details remain developing.