Haiti is giving political parties and candidates more time to complete the process of getting on the ballot as the country moves toward its first national elections in roughly a decade.
The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) announced on September 2 that it extended the candidate-registration process following requests from political parties and groups that said they needed additional time. The overall process, originally scheduled to conclude October 2, will now run through October 14.
Under the revised schedule, candidates have until September 20 to register online, while required documents can be submitted through September 22. The CEP will review applications through September 28 and publish a preliminary list of candidates on September 29. Challenges and appeals will follow before the final list of approved candidates is published October 14.
But here’s what voters should know: the election date itself has not been pushed back.
Haiti’s first round of presidential and legislative elections remains scheduled for December 13, 2026, with a second round planned for February 21, 2027. If the elections take place as scheduled, they would be Haiti’s first national elections in about a decade.
Getting to Election Day, however, remains a major challenge. Haiti continues to face widespread gang violence, displacement and insecurity, conditions that have already disrupted previous election timelines. The electoral process has faced repeated delays, and the ability to hold elections safely remains closely tied to improvements in security and sufficient funding.
For now, the CEP is moving forward with the December timeline, while giving political parties additional time to complete the steps required to get their candidates officially approved.
