ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, (CMC) — Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders have welcomed the developments taking place in Haiti and remain optimistic that elections could be held in the French-speaking member State by the end of next year.

The issue was discussed during their caucus meeting, and the regional leaders received a report on the situation from president of the Transitional Presidential Council, Edgard Leblanc Fils.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley told Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that the regional leaders, who ended their three-day summit here on Tuesday, were encouraged by the report.

“Well, we are quite happy that we made some significant progress with Haiti. You know Caricom — we had quietly and firmly worked on Haiti. We got their transition arrangement out of the way, we got the council in place.

“And the Kenyans are on the ground in Haiti, fully supported by the resource base of the Americans and the Canadians. These were things that were not there before, and we literally had to fight a way to that position,” Rowley said as he added, “I think we are in a much better place now, even though there’s still a lot of problems there.

“But, it’s not as hopeless as it appeared when the gangs were roaming the streets,” he said, noting that no definitive timeline had been given regarding the holding of the elections.

“Well, we are now talking about the appointment of the elections council [and]…there’s a step-by-step process. You have to put the council in place now for the population to accept that these people are going to be honest brokers in organising an election.

“If you try to organise an election before people are prepared to accept the credibility and the bona fides, it’s not going to go anywhere. So, now that the Government is in place you’re going to put the election council in place, and then the plan for the actual elections,” he said.

Haiti has been without an elected head of State since July 7, 2021 when Jovenel Moise was assassinated at his private residence overlooking Port-au-Prince.

His murder and subsequent events led to Caricom establishing an Eminent Persons Group comprising former prime ministers Dr Kenny Anthony of St Lucia, Perry Christie of The Bahamas, and Bruce Golding of Jamaica, in a bid to help solve the political and socio-economic situation in the country.

St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves told
CMC he believes the elections could most likely take place by the end of 2025, even as he acknowledged that the humanitarian situation “is still very dire, very difficult”.