Declaration of Jean-Pierre Kingsley, Chair of the International Mission for Monitoring Haitian Elections 'IMMHE', on the Elections of February 7, 2006.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- The Haitian people have clearly and freely expressed their desire to build a future of democracy.

The International Mission for Monitoring Haitian Elections (IMMHE) congratulates and pays tribute to the Haitian people, who turned out in force to vote in the first round of the presidential and legislative elections. Haitian voters have shown courage and determination, and this is worthy of our admiration. The respect shown by political stakeholders for the process holds promise for future developments.

Our Mission would like to recognize the professional conduct of election workers on election day, in particular during the vote and the ballot count. Their perseverance was a key factor in the election. We would especially like to congratulate the Executive Director of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), Mr. Jacques Bernard. Since his appointment last October, Mr. Bernard has provided the momentum needed to prepare the elections and has coordinated the contributions of all stakeholders, including the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

Founded in June 2005, our Mission is led by a Steering Committee, of which I am the chair. It is composed of representatives of the independent electoral commissions of eight countries, including Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama and the United States. We have ensured a presence on the ground since last August through long-term observers deployed in pairs in each of Haiti's departments. In addition, 127 short-term observers have covered the entire territory since February 4, to observe the vote.

Our Mission's observations also rely on expert analysis, which enables us to provide a comprehensive assessment of the electoral process. A description of the analysis criteria can be found on the Mission's Web site (www.mieeh-immhe.ca).

Our Mission's approach is one of accompaniment. To this end, we established close ties with the CEP, in particular with its Executive Director, Mr. Bernard, over and above our observation work, and have shared our observations and analyses on an ongoing basis.

This declaration reports what we have noted to date. It is important to emphasize that the process is not over. We are continuing our observation work, notably with the compilation of results, which has been delayed because of the amount of time it is taking to count the votes and to transmit the polling stations' minutes. We will also follow the complaints process and dispute resolution procedures at the level of the departmental electoral dispute offices, as well as the appeals process, which will be conducted by the CEP.

The work our Mission has accomplished since last August has given us insight into the difficult conditions under which the elections were being organized and has allowed us to identify problems encountered on election day. Many polling stations opened with significant delays, resulting in lengthy lineups. The process was marred by communication problems and late delivery of election materials. Furthermore, there was confusion among some electors as to where they were supposed to vote. Electors also had problems locating their polling stations (lack of signage, confined areas, difficulties moving through crowds) and were not given sufficient information on voting procedures. Finally, the polling booths need to be redesigned to ensure the secrecy of the vote.

Overall, the election proceeded in a calm and orderly fashion thanks to the patience of the Haitian people and of the election workers, who overcame the challenges encountered.

Our Mission deplores some isolated incidents, in particular the destruction of ballots, which is a fundamentally anti-democratic gesture. That being said, we would like to emphasize the general absence of intimidation and violence at polling centres. In terms of security, we would especially like to acknowledge the work of MINUSTAH, the Haitian National Police (PNH) and electoral security agents.

We hope that the CEP will build on the experience it has acquired in the past months, as well as on election day, to prepare the next elections by adjusting the process and making the necessary corrections before the next round, to be held on March 19, 2006. In this regard, we will publish a progress report in the coming days that will include recommendations to improve the electoral process.

The Haitian people have taken an important step toward democracy.