OAS and Japan sign $3M deal to expand Haiti's 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. The funding will help issue 350,000 new biometric identification cards, update the electoral registry, support public awareness campaigns and expand mobile registration units in remote and vulnerable communities, the OAS said. The agreement was signed during OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin's Aug. 16-19 visit to Haiti, where a high-level Inter-American delegation met with government officials led by Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, security leaders and international partners. Ramdin said the new deal builds on an earlier OAS-Japan initiative launched in 2023, which registered more than 1.07 million people and issued 1.22 million identification cards through the National Office of Identification (ONI). The electoral process faces serious security challenges: officials cited by international partners say more than 85% of Port-au-Prince is under armed group control and more than 1.4 million people are displaced nationwide. The delegation also reviewed the P4000 police-training program and met with the Gang Suppression Force. "Security remains fundamental to making elections possible," Ramdin said, adding, "This remains a Haitian-led process."