Above: MINUSTAH Chief Mariano Fernandez (UN Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Mariano Fernandez, the Special Representative of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, is urging Haiti’s government to take “all necessary measures” to hold partial legislative elections “as soon as possible” this year.

The elections have been delayed for more than a year due to government gridlock, although Fernandez said the UN noted “with satisfaction” that Haiti’s leaders appeared committed to organizing the vote this year.

“We hope that the three branches of government will work diligently in this direction,” he said in a statement.

The immediate task is for the establishment of the Permanent Electoral Council, he said.

At the end of December, Haiti’s leaders agreed on a Transitional College of the Permanent Electoral Council, something Fernandez called an “important first step.”

The next step is to finalize the appointment and installation of nine members.

Fernandez stressed the importance of the independence of the council, encouraging the body to act in a “transparent and inclusive manner.”

He said MINUSTAH, the UN peacekeeping mission of which Fernandez is the chief, is “ready to support the organization of a free, inclusive and transparent elections in Haiti.”