From September 16 – 18, Prime Minister Paul traveled to Washington D. C. to meet with Secretary John Kerry to discuss the importance of free, fair and credible elections in Haiti. “We have only one goal, only one option – namely, to organize elections to ensure that Haiti can continue on the path of democratic change. What we want and we have decided is that next year, 2016, in January we’ll have a democratically elected parliament, and on February 7, we will have a newly democratically elected president,” said Prime Minister Paul. “That’s what we want and that’s what we hope our partners, such as the United States, will be there to support us in order to allow Haiti to create the enabling conditions for the development of its people.”
In meetings with members of the U.S. Congress the Prime Minister accompanied by members of the Haitian delegation and Ambassadors Paul Altidor and Bocchit Edmond discussed the challenges and progress for democratic elections in Haiti.
As the Organization of American States (OAS) actively observed the Haitian elections, Prime Minister Paul met with Secretary General Luis Almagro to highlight lessons learned from the August elections and the path forward for a smooth October presidential election.
The Prime Minister also convened a roundtable with representatives from varying sectors within the community, including Haitian-American elected officials, NGO’s, business, private sector and current/past Haiti representatives at multilateral institutions to hear their perspectives on the role of the diaspora and the future of a diaspora vote.
Prime Minister Paul took this occasion to engage with several groups within the Haitian community. These events were well attended and allowed the community a direct opening to discuss elections and other relevant issues with the Head of Government. This was a great opportunity for him to hear directly questions and concerns and reiterate the government’s commitment to elections and a newly democratically elected parliament and president next year.
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