Haiti

Haiti's provisional electoral council said Monday that news on presidential vote results had been delayed. The announcement of preliminary results that was set for Tuesday now has been pushed back to Thursday amid reports of irregularities that have to be investigated, the council said in a statement.

Election officials in Haiti are counting ballots from Sunday's vote, a lengthy process that will take at least a week before producing preliminary results. … Election observers say Sunday's vote was largely free of major problems and the violence that plagued parliamentary elections in August.

The Security Council this morning extended the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for one year, until 15 October 2016, at the UN Secretary General’s recommended force levels of up to 2,370 troops and 2,061 police.

Delays and sporadic violence troubled Haitian legislative elections on Sunday as the country voted for its next parliament after a years-long wait. The elections had been postponed for nearly four years due to a political showdown between Haiti’s executive and opposition, and they have been billed as a crucial test of the country’s electoral system ahead of a presidential vote in late October.

Haiti’s impending elections will be an “historic milestone” for the Caribbean country as it continues on its journey toward economic and political recovery, according to two senior United Nations officials.

The United Nations called for a swift investigation into the shooting death of a Chilean peacekeeper in Haiti whose killing prompted strong condemnations from the UN mission on the ground as well as the Secretary-General and Security Council at the world body’s Headquarters.

Presenting the Secretary-General’s report on MINUSTAH, Sandra Honoré reported that the country had made “measurable gains towards the holding of long-overdue elections” by the end of 2015, despite the lingering “uncertainty” caused by the absence of a functioning Parliament.

Visiting members of the U.N. Security Council on Sunday called for Haiti to organize credible elections as soon as possible and for the country's leadership to govern responsibly and inclusively in the absence of a functioning legislature. … Justice Minister Pierre-Richard Casimir asked the U.N. delegation not to make the planned troop reductions until Haiti's elections were over. Besides the long-overdue legislative vote, Haiti is due to hold presidential elections this year.

Haiti's new government is headed up by Prime Minister Evans Paul, a former mayor of Port-au-Prince and an unsuccessful contender in the 2006 presidential elections when he received just 2.5% of the vote.