Haiti Registers 581 Legislative Candidates as Voter Registration Lags Far Behind Target

Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) reported that, as of September 23, 2026, 7 presidential candidates, 162 Senate candidates, and 419 Chamber of Deputies candidates (581 total) had registered ahead of the December 13, 2026 first-round elections, submitted by 30 of 105 accredited political organizations (18 parties and 12 coalitions); candidate registration remains open through October 9. Voter registration, however, remained deeply behind schedule: just under 653,000 voters were registered as of midday September 23 — up from 628,755 on September 21 — only just over 10% of the estimated electorate, against the CEP's target of roughly 4 million registered voters before the October 13 registration deadline. Registration rates were highest in the Southeast, Grand'Anse and Nippes departments (above 16%) and lowest in the West, North and Artibonite departments, the three regions holding the largest shares of the electorate. The CEP said nearly 20 municipalities were unable to receive candidate declarations because of gang violence, requiring alternative submission sites, and reported 1,285 operational registration and voting centers, 2,853 trained registry agents, and 4,643 trained electoral security agents.