2025-12-11

CONFIDENCE Absolute Confidence. OAS Secretary-General Albert Ramdin stated explicitly in his December 9 speech to member states that governance after February 2026 when the CPT mandate formally ends is a top priority. The CPT was established with a constitutional mandate expiring February 7, 2026. No legal mechanism exists for self-extension of this mandate. The confirmed August 30 election date creates a six-month gap between mandate expiration and electoral transition. What's Happening The CPT constitutional mandate expires in 58 days on February 7, 2026. If the official election date is August 30, 2026, Haiti will operate without constitutional authority for six months. The Haitian Constitution provides no mechanism for the CPT to extend its own mandate. CARICOM, which brokered the original transitional agreement, has not announced any framework for managing the post-February 7 period. The government has not proposed constitutional amendments. International partners including the OAS have identified this as a critical priority but have not presented solutions. The vacuum period would cover critical electoral preparation activities including voter registration verification, polling station setup, and security deployment for the GSF. Thursday, December 11, 2025, 7:00 PM Haiti Time Why This Matters Operating without constitutional authority for six months would delegitimize every government action during that period. Laws passed, decrees issued, international agreements signed, and financial commitments made between February 7 and August 30 would lack legal foundation. This creates massive risk for international partners who require constitutional legitimacy for financial disbursements and operational partnerships. The GSF deployment, scheduled for early 2026, could find itself operating under a government with no legal standing. Political actors could challenge any electoral results by arguing the entire process occurred under an illegitimate authority. The constitutional crisis also provides opening for extra-constitutional actors to claim power, either through military intervention or gang coalition political demands.