MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Haiti PM Lamonthe pledges free, fair and honest elections later this year

“The elections will take place this year and my government will provide the means to support the electoral council” said Lamothe.

Haiti’s Prime Minister Laurent Lamonthe has pledged that his government will provide the necessary means to the electoral council to facilitate the holding of legislative and local elections this year.

 During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Lamothe reiterated the commitment of his team and President Michel Martelly to democracy and the rule of law, of which regularly organized free, fair and honest elections remain an inescapable corollary.

“The elections will take place this year and my government will provide the means to support the work of the electoral council, ” said Lamothe.

“This will allow us to move forward on the path of democracy which this government believes in,” he advised.

Many feared the worst in Haiti because of allegations that a major political crisis would result from a failure by the Martelly - Lamothe government to find a political consensus to facilitate the holding of such important elections.

In an address to Parliament on Monday, Martelly, also promised that the ballot will be held this year to elect one-third of the 30-member Senate and hundreds of entities of local governance.

The election date will be announced soon by the electoral council, tasked with organizing the vote. Consultations are underway between electoral authorities and various political actors and civil society groups in order to reach a consensus on the electoral calendar and other important steps in the election process.

Several Latin-American countries which are part of the UN peace forces in Haiti had warned they would withdraw their manpower and equipment contributions if the electoral calendar was further delayed.