MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Haiti election results confirm Jovenel Moise as next president

The Provisional Electoral Council confirmed the results: Jovenel Moise, P.H.T.K., 55.60%; Jude Celestin, LAPEH, 19.57%; Jean-Charles Moise, 11.04%

The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (EOM/OAS) in Haiti welcomed the announcement of the final results of the presidential election held on November 20, 2016.

 EOM commends the conclusion of an electoral process that, despite having been long and complex, has allowed the country to continue down the path of democratic strengthening.

The verification process of 12% of the returns, ordered by the Electoral Disputes Tribunal at the request of different political actors, concluded that the returns analyzed did not show irregularities that could have affected the electoral process.

The use of established legal processes to clarify questions about the results allowed the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP for its initials in French) to announce the following results: Jovenel Moise from P.H.T.K.: 55.60%; Jude Celestin from LAPEH: 19.57%; Jean-Charles Moise from Pitit Dessalines: 11.04%; Maryse Narcisse from Fanmi Lavalas: 9.01%.

EOM/OAS again called on all sides to respect the results published by the CEP. In addition, the Mission invited all political actors to look ahead and work together in order to address the major challenges Haiti faces as a nation.

The EOM/OAS has been present in the country since June 2015. During this period, more than 400 people were deployed and the Mission was able to observe all stages of the electoral process. The Mission will continue to support Haitian democracy and as such will deploy a group of experts and observers for the upcoming elections on January 29, when Haitians will elect senators and local authorities.