THE HORRENDOUS problems facing Haiti as a direct consequence of the unprecedented earthquake devastation of last January 12, have left many well-meaning people thinking that it is perhaps irrelevant for this poorest of nations in this hemisphere to be involved at this time in presidential and parliamentary elections. At the best of times, national elections can be very divisive. Now may be the worst of times for Haiti, the ‘Mother of Freedom’ in this hemisphere, and the most populous of CARICOM’s 14 independent member states.
It is to the credit to what functions, against the odds, as a government in Port-au-Prince, as well as the efforts of other stakeholders of that CARICOM member family struggling for survival, that they have made it possible to satisfy anxieties, including from foreign governments with their passion for electoral time-frames, in scheduling November 28 as the date for elections.
We must all hope that with the closing of nominations yesterday, that governments, organisations and institutions that are genuinely friendly disposed to Haiti, will rally around the Haitian people to help ensure peaceful election campaigning while paying heed also to their basic human needs.
In short, not making the ‘ballot’ more important than the food, clean water and medication for which they have been scrambling, amid the mountains of earthquake rubble, to stay alive with some dignity.   
As of yesterday, while the Haiti-born popular American pop star, Wyclef Jean continued to stir media hype, it is the former Haitian Prime Minister, Jacques Edouard Alexis, who is viewed as perhaps the most serious of some five nominated contenders to succeed outgoing President René Préval, who is completing his constitutionally restricted two consecutive terms.
Alexis, who has twice served as Prime Minister, was dismissed in 2008 amid food riots. But it is felt by Haiti political watchers that he has the advantage of experience on his side, along with the support of Préval’s governing Unity Party.
A commendable feature of arrangements being made for international observers for the elections is the agreement announced last week that, for the first time, CARICOM and the Organisation of American States (OAS) will combine efforts to have a joint monitoring team in Haiti.
CARICOM’S Assistant Secretary-General, Colin Granderson, a very experienced official in the politics and governance of Haiti, is a good choice as leader of the estimated 180 observers.
We are left to hope that the results of the elections will indeed help pave the way forward for a better life for the mass of Haitians so much gripped by poverty and distress.