2026-01-29

Institute to Strengthen Technical Capacity The Conseil Electoral Provisoire signed a protocol of cooperation with Mexico's Instituto Nacional Electoral on January 28 establishing a technical assistance framework to strengthen Haiti's capacity to organize August 30 first-round elections. CEP President Jacques Desrosiers and Mexican Ambassador Jose de Jesus Cisneros Chavez formalized the agreement providing for knowledge exchange, training, and technical accompaniment in electoral management. The partnership focuses on five core areas: capacity building for electoral operators, electoral registry management and updating, technology integration in election management, pre-electoral training workshops, and adherence to best practices for secure materials management and zero-gap production processes. January 29, 2026 Mexico brings substantial credentials to the partnership. INE has twelve years of experience managing elections and operates secure central issuance printing facilities producing millions of Mexican voter IDs employing industry best practices for secure materials management and advanced audit and control processes. Mexico previously supported Haitian voter ID production through the OAS in 2021 under a $1.5 million contract that leveraged INE infrastructure in Mexico to produce Haitian national ID cards for use as obligatory identification in elections. The January 28 agreement extends that relationship into comprehensive electoral administration support positioning Mexico as a key technical partner alongside BINUH's political and logistical assistance to the CEP. Ambassador Cisneros Chavez stated the agreement will contribute to organizing successful elections capable of laying foundations for institutional normalization in the country, emphasizing only credible elections can break Haiti's cycle of transitional governments. CEP President Desrosiers affirmed the protocol aims to establish a solid framework to support efforts in electoral administration and that only institutions strengthened by rigorous inter-institutional cooperation can guarantee free and transparent elections. The timing is strategic with the electoral calendar projecting August 30 for first-round voting requiring immediate technical support to finalize voter registration updates, procure materials, train operators, and establish logistical systems across Haiti's ten departments. However, the agreement does not address the electoral calendar's fundamental contingency. CEP explicitly conditioned the August 30 date on achieving an acceptable security environment, and with gangs controlling 80-90 percent of Port-au-Prince and expanding into breadbasket regions, that prerequisite remains elusive. The Mexico-CEP partnership provides technical capacity, but electoral execution depends on the Gang Suppression Force achieving territorial control gains that have so far been limited to isolated neighborhoods. The operational implication is that even with Mexican technical assistance, the CEP cannot credibly organize elections in gang-held zones, creating a scenario where elections might proceed in secure areas while excluding constituencies in Port-au-Prince and Artibonite, a partial election that would lack legitimacy.