Haiti begins voter registration amid gang violence and security threats
Kyiv • UNN
Ten voter registration centers have opened in Port-au-Prince. Elections have not been held for more than ten years, and gangs control 70% of the capital.
Voter registration has begun in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and other parts of the country ahead of general elections scheduled for December 13. At the same time, the process is taking place against a backdrop of widespread violence by armed gangs, reports the Associated Press, writes UNN.
Details
The government opened ten registration centers in relatively safe areas of Port-au-Prince. Among the first visitors was 34-year-old construction worker Wadly Bernadel, who said he may vote for the first time in his life.
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General elections have not been held in Haiti for more than ten years. The country has also been without a president since July 2021, when head of state Jovenel Moïse was assassinated at his residence.
Experts doubt the elections will cover the entire country
According to AP, due to the violence, more than 1.4 million people have been forced to leave their homes, and gangs control about 70% of the territory of Port-au-Prince and the main roads to the central regions of the country. More than half of all Haitian voters live in these areas.
According to the UN, more than 5,900 people were killed in Haiti last year, and more than 1,600 in the first three months of this year alone. In addition, in the first half of the year, about 5,500 cases of gender-based violence were recorded, of which approximately 70% were rapes.