HAITIAN ELECTIONS
ARRIVAL OF SHORT-TERM OBSERVERS

 Port-au-Prince, Friday, January 27, 2006: The International Mission for Monitoring Haitian Elections (IMMHE), which has been on the ground since August of last year, is ready to carry out its mandate to observe Haiti’s legislative and presidential elections, the first round of which is to take place on February 7, 2006.

The Mission is headed by a Steering Committee composed of the representatives of eight independent electoral commissions:

• Mr. Jean-Pierre Kingsley (Canada), Chair
• Mr. Danville Walker (Jamaica), Vice-Chair
• Mr. Torquato Jardim (Brazil)
• Mr. Juan Ignacio Garcia Rodriguez (Chile)
• Mr. Paul DeGregorio (United States)
• Mr. Manuel Carrillo (Mexico)
• Mr. Eduardo Valdés (Panama)
• Mr. Luis Eladio Arias Nunez (Dominican Republic)

Long-term observer teams have been on site throughout the country since September to observe the electoral process and to ensure a safe environment for the deployment of some 130 short-term observers who will work under the auspices of the IMMHE. These observers will come from Canada, CARICOM countries and Japan. They will be deployed together with observers from the Francophonie and IFES, to provide maximum coverage across the country.

The short-term observers will be in Haiti from February 2 to 9, 2006, to monitor and evaluate the vote, the count and the transmission of preliminary results. They will undergo intensive training on all aspects of the observation mission prior to carrying out their activities. In addition, they will be stationed across the country and will work in teams under the supervision of long-term observers.

The deployment of short-term observers in Haiti is a key step in the Mission’s role to support and evaluate the Haitian elections, as expressed by its eight member commissions. Observers deployed under IMMHE have the mandate to perform their work in a neutral manner and without interfering in the electoral process.

The goal of the IMMHE is to reinforce the Haitian people’s confidence in their electoral process.

For more information, please contact:
Jasmine VENDREDI, Press Agent, (509) 414-4778