2026-02-26

The Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Disputes approved a 10-year $542,634,238 border security contract between four Haitian government ministries and a consortium led by Evergreen Trading System Limited and Alex Stewart International. The contract covers satellite surveillance equipment, drones, scanners, and helicopters; cargo and container scanners at the maritime ports of Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haïtien, and Saint-Louis-du-Sud; vehicle scanners at the Malpasse, Belladere, and Ouanaminthe border crossings; and reconstruction of customs and migration infrastructure. PM Fils-Aime stated that controlling Haiti's border is the government's first responsibility and signaled openness to normalized relations with the Dominican Republic, noting that the two nations share an island and cannot remain estranged. The CEP's revised electoral calendar, published in Le Moniteur in December 2025, establishes the following timeline: campaign period opens May 19, 2026; electoral lists published July 31, 2026; first-round elections for legislative and presidential offices August 30, 2026; first-round results October 3, 2026; second round December 6, 2026; and presidential inauguration February 7, 2027. The CEP has identified 23 communes under armed gang control across the West, Artibonite, Centre, and Northwest departments, which presents major implications for electoral logistics. No elections have been held in Haiti since 2016. The total cost of the electoral process is estimated at $120 million. February 26, 2026 An institutional friction point exists in the electoral framework. Two major additions were made to the electoral decree published in Le Moniteur on December 1, 2025, without the CEP's consent or approval. This unilateral modification of the electoral legal framework creates a basis for legal challenges and signals that the interim government has not fully delineated its authority from the CEP's technical independence. The CEP must also still publish diaspora voting procedures, a commitment reflected in the National Pact but without a published implementation timeline. The HOPE/HELP textile trade preference program represents the most immediate economic stabilization lever. The US House of Representatives passed HR 6504 on January 12, 2026, by a bipartisan vote of 345 to 45, extending duty-free treatment for Haitian textiles retroactively from September 2025 through December 2026 with potential extension to December 2028 pending Senate action. The program accounts for approximately 90% of Haiti's exports. The Association of Industries of Haiti has called for a 10-year extension to generate the investment confidence that a single-year renewal cannot provide.