Haiti’s November 2025 Elections in Peril Amid Escalating Gang Violence

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti’s long-awaited general elections, scheduled for November 15, 2025, face deep uncertainty as gang warfare intensifies across the country, raising serious questions over the feasibility of a free and fair vote.

Security Crisis Threatens Elections

Armed gangs now control vast swathes of Port-au-Prince, Ghana’s Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM) pledges remain under-resourced, and violence continues to drive mass displacement.

Experts argue the deteriorating security environment could undermine democratic processes, especially voter access and election integrity.

International Pressure Builds

The U.N. Security Council has urged Haitian leaders to move forward with the electoral timeline, despite the warning from local authorities that the mission may be impossible under current conditions.

The newly appointed transitional president Fritz Alphonse Jean has pleaded for national unity, calling the situation “a war” and emphasizing the urgency of political stability.

Elections Under Threat

The President of Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council, Jacques Desrosiers, recently stated that holding elections before February 2026 — the constitutionally scheduled end of the transitional government’s mandate — is “impossible” given the ongoing violence.

This delay could prolong the legitimacy vacuum, keeping the country under transitional rule well beyond the planned election date.