United Nations Volunteers support Haitian Elections

by Fai Collins Dzernyuy

Port au Prince, Haiti: Haiti has been in the eye of the storm throughout 2010 - moving from the devastating earthquake through the cyclone to the cholera outbreak. Each of these hazards has left behind death and human suffering. Despite all these calamities, Haitians are bent on exercising their civic duty as preparations are already in high gear for the legislative and presidential elections of 28 November 2010.
The cholera epidemic which has claimed hundreds of lives raised fears that the elections would be postponed, but officials of the Conseil Électoral Provisoire (CEP) - Interim Electoral Commission - indicate that though the epidemic continues to be a national concern, the elections remain an obligation. This has calmed down fears as governments and international organizations are lending a hand to make sure that the electoral calendar is respected.

The November elections pose a challenge to Haiti and the international community as it will be a spring board and the foundation for the reconstruction of Haiti. UNV volunteers are playing an active part in various phases of the electoral process. In the ten regions that make up Haiti, UNV volunteers are coordinating electoral affairs side by side their Haitian colleagues, providing logistical and technical assistance.

Apart from the 21 UNV volunteers that make up the electoral section of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), an additional 200 UNV volunteers will be deployed all over the Haitian territory during and after the pooling day to perform various tasks to ensure the elections are fair and transparent. Moreover, in order to make sure that the right logistical and technical assistance is provided to the Haitian government, the electoral section of the MINUSTAH has been scaled up with the expertise of UNV volunteers who have worked in similar situations in other countries.

Pierre Kadi Sossou is one of these UNV volunteers, and he is the Regional Coordinator of Electoral Affairs in the North West. His experience in good governance and electoral affairs started way back in 1992 and has spanned through Togo, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and now Haiti. His role and functions like many of his UNV colleagues who head regional offices is to provide technical and logistical support to the Interim Electoral Commission.

Logistical support entails the distribution and retrieval of electoral material. Security is the responsibility of the United Nations Police, the Military and the Haitian National Police, who also work with the regional coordinators, especially for the transportation of electoral material. For many months now, the electoral section has been involved in various activities that will culminate in the holding of the upcoming elections.

To better prepare for the elections, the MINUSTAH electoral section held a two-day retreat in Port au Prince that brought together the various structures and people involved in the organization of the elections in Haiti. Many of the UNV volunteers who took part in the meeting applauded the initiative and said it was an opportunity to meet other colleagues in the section and learn more about the role and implication of the various stakeholders in the electoral process. They said that it was also an opportunity for the section chief Mathieu Bouah Bile to brief the participants ahead of the Election Day.
 
As Election Day draws nearer, everything is falling into place. Many registered voters are queuing up daily to sign their voters’ cards. According to the lists and statistics published by the CEP, there are about 4.7 million people registered to vote in the West, the region with the highest number of registered voters in the country. Although women make up the majority of the Haitian population, released statistics indicate that a little less than 50 percent of the registered voters are women. Leaders of women’s associations and female parliamentarians have been holding meetings and sensitization campaigns, encouraging women to be actively involved in the political game as they can play a central role in Haitian politics. Most bread winners in Haiti are women.

Campaign rallies are gathering momentum as the focus has now moved away from billboards and posters to radio and television talk shows and political rallies as presidential aspirants crisscross the country with messages of hopes and dreams. In all, there will be 25 candidates vying for the presidency, the youngest candidate being 41 and the eldest 74 years old.

Many UNV volunteers, especially those who were in Haiti during the 12 January earthquake, say that their participation in the electoral process which will lead to the election of a president, parliamentarians and senators is one of the ways they are participating in the reconstruction of Haiti. They feel that their modest contribution will help build a more democratic Haiti in which development initiatives can blossom.