Human Rights Watch/Americas, which has monitored the human rights crisis in Haiti for over ten years, has examined pre-election conditions and found that, while levels of violence do not compare with previous electoral periods and the procedural aspects of the election are proceeding in relative openness, the underlying tensions in the society require heightened international and governmental attention. This report notes both progress and difficulties with the electoral process. While we believe that the risks of violence should not be overstated, we also note that a number of measures can and should be taken to bolster public confidence in this crucial vote. Among those measures, the serious problems with voter registration, including the loss or theft of hundreds of thousands of voter registration cards, must be addressed immediately.
Incidents of political violence against electoral officials and political figures have generated fear of further disturbances during the remaining electoral period or on election day. After the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) recently disqualified hundreds of would-be candidates, several threatened to sabotage the elections. Nonetheless, several factors should decrease the risk for systematic disruption of the elections, including the progressive dismantling of the Haitian army, and the presence of over 6,000 foreign troops and over 900 international civilian police who are part of the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH). While concerns for electoral violence do not rise to the level of previous years, the existence of election related threats and violence highlights the need for Haiti's police and the international forces of UNMIH to intensify their efforts to provide security during the electoral period.
A brief electoral calendar for a complex election has raised tensions on many levels, particularly with regard to the establishment of the CEP and its regional offices. The members of the CEP as well as representatives of several political parties, voters, and international agencies involved in the election process, have experienced persistent frustrations in their efforts to plan and carry out this election. Most dramatically, the pre-electoral period has been marred by the recent revelation that the CEP cannot account for between 800,000 and 1.5 million voter registration cards. As of June 8, 1995, the CEP leadership could not provide a precise number of missing cards, did not clarify if they had been lost or stolen, and reported that only 60,000 of the cards had been located.
Despite security concerns and continued questions about registration cards, the electoral processes have continued to function. Voters are registered in large numbers, over 10,000 candidates will be running for office, and hundreds of governmental, nongovernmental, and political party election observers are preparing to monitor the election mechanisms. Irregularities have resulted in the dismissals of electoral officials in some cases. Despite the contention of several political parties that the CEP is biased, twenty-five parties and the CEP have agreed to sign an electoral code of conduct, by which they pledge to collaborate, and to follow the Constitution and the electoral law.