PARIS, France (CMC) – The head of Haiti’s Presidential Transitional Council (TPC), Leslie Voltaire, says elections in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country will take place in November this year.

“We must hand over power to a legitimate, elected government on February 7, 2026,” Voltaire told TV5 Monde, indicating that the polls could take place on or about November 15.

Haiti has not had elected representatives since January 2023 and has not held elections since 2016.

The country’s capital is almost entirely controlled by armed gangs and leaders have said security must be provided first to allow for a free and fair vote.

Armed gangs have been seeking to overthrow the government and have taken over a significant portion of the capital, Port au Prince, with the United Nations saying that more than a million Haitians have been internally displaced by the conflict.

In addition, about half the population, estimated at more than five million face starvation as the activities of the armed gangs also force major ports to repeatedly close their operations.

In his television interview, Voltaire said he had had a cordial meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in which Macron agreed to support efforts to boost security and prevent drug trafficking.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils Aimé, has held a meeting at the General Directorate of the National Police of Haiti (DGPNH) in Port au Prince on Thursday, insisting that the “state will not back down”.

“The unity of institutional forces is now a vital requirement. It is imperative to restore trust, strengthen coordination between law enforcement agencies and neutralise those who sow terror.”

Fils Aimé said that the repeated attacks by criminal groups have tortured fellow citizens for too long.

“Too many families are mourning a child, a parent, a loved one, torn from life by the barbarity of these human monsters. Too many women have been raped, too many workers prevented from carrying out their activities in peace,” he said, adding “this situation cannot continue”.

“The State is rising up! The State is striking! The State will triumph!”

A statement issued following the meeting, which was attended also by Justice Minister Patrick Pélissier, Interior Minister Paul Antoine Bien-Aimé and Mario Andrésol, Secretary of State for Public Security, said that decisions had been taken to intensify the response against criminals and regain control of areas plagued by violence.

“The police will receive the necessary means to track down, dismantle and neutralise armed groups. Fear must change sides: it will no longer be the population who will live under threat, but those who have chosen the path of crime.”

The government also announced an increase in security operations, with targeted actions on hotbeds of violence, reinforcements in personnel and equipment, as well as increased coordination between the PNH and the Haitian Armed Forces (FAd’H).

“We will strike hard and relentlessly. No criminal will be spared,” Prime Minister Fils Aimé, adding “this fight is that of the entire nation”.

“We must stand tall, united and resolute. We call on every Haitian to support us, to collaborate with the forces of law and order and to reject any form of complicity with those who are destroying our country.

“We have a clear mandate: to put an end to the reign of criminals. And we will do it, without weakness, without hesitation, with the strength and authority of the state…. The enemy will be defeated. Order will be restored. Haiti will find peace again.”