Oh my gosh, you guys, Haiti is like totally going through it right now! So, like, on September 18, 2024, they finally set up this thing called a provisional electoral council, which is basically like the first real step toward having their first elections since, like, 2016! Can you believe it’s been that long?! It’s been, like, almost a decade since they’ve had a vote. Wild, right?
So, here’s the tea: things have been a total disaster ever since their president, Jovenel Moïse, got assassinated back in 2021. Seriously, it left this, like, huge power vacuum. Ariel Henry, who’s like the prime minister now, dissolved the old electoral council and just kept delaying the elections because, like, he said it was way too dangerous with all the gangs controlling, like, 80% of Port-au-Prince. I mean, yeah, people are totally afraid to even leave their houses because the gangs have gotten that bad. There are neighborhoods that gangs control completely, and some people even rely on them for basic services. Like, 60% of rural Haitians depend on gangs for aid. Over 3,200 people have been killed just this year because of all the violence! How scary is that?
But, like, now they’ve got a new council, and it’s super diverse, which is so fab! They’ve got farmers, journalists, human rights people, and even folks from the Vodou community—pretty much, like, a bunch of different voices all trying to figure out how to make elections actually happen. But the problem? These gangs, girl! The government literally doesn’t have control of most of the capital, and how are you supposed to hold elections when, like, half the people can’t even go outside safely?
To fix that, Kenya (yes, Kenya!) is leading a U.N.-backed mission, and they’ve sent 400 police officers to help deal with the gangs. And other countries, like Jamaica and the Bahamas, are jumping in too. So, they’re trying to get things under control, but it’s a total uphill battle.
Plus, get this: nobody has been elected in Haiti for years! The last functioning democratic institution, the Senate, like, disbanded in 2023, so now there’s just…no one. It’s a hot mess. So while this new council is a big step, it’s still like, “Um, okay, but how are we gonna do this with gangs running wild?!”
I mean, fingers crossed this all works out, because Haiti has seriously been through it, and these elections are way overdue. Let’s hope the international help actually makes a difference this time!
XOXO,
Valley Girl News
