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| OAS Assistant Secretary General Ambassador Albert Ramdin (r) and Director of the OAS Office in St. Kitts and Nevis Mr. Kenneth Parker at Tuesday's Press Conference |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, OCTOBER 4TH 2005 Assistant Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS) Ambassador Albert Ramdin said Tuesday while he is cautiously optimistic that Presidential Elections will be held in Haiti as scheduled for November 20 this year, the main challenge will be governing in an environment of peace and stability.
Speaking at a news conference late Tuesday following making courtesy calls on St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris, Ambassador Ramdin said while there were concerns on security issues for many countries, it has improved although it is not the best, but it is up to a certain level which is acceptable and will not jeopardize the elections in any form.
At this point, the conclusion is from the OAS, is that we are cautiously optimistic about the preparations for the elections. Out of the approximately four million eligible voters, 3.1 million have been registered and I think that is a good 70 percent of the electoral population, said Ramdin, who is in Basseterre to attend the official opening of the 5th Caribbean Week in Agriculture at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort.
Ambassador Ramdin pointed out that all the political parties have had the opportunity to register their presidential candidates in a process seen as inclusive one that was important to CARICOM.
The Party of former President Jean Bertrand Aristide had the opportunity to register both in terms of voter registration and in terms of nominating candidates for the Presidential Elections and I am sure also that in the upcoming local elections they will be able to present their candidate. That process has been inclusive and that is a positive step, said Ramdin.
The senior OAS official said the Haiti's Electoral Commission needs to be strengthened and the government in Port Au Prince is currently working towards this goal with the support of the OAS, the United Nations and the Caribbean Community.
If we put that all together and there is the political will in Haiti and from the Interim Government to make the right decisions, we will be able to have an electoral calendar towards the 20th November and then hopefully, if that works out fine, on the 7th of February next year, there will be a constitutionally elected president with his own Cabinet, said Ramdin.
But he said the main challenge is not really the holding of the elections. That is only the first step. The main challenge will be to have democratic governability after the elections. That the government that is in place can govern in an environment of peace, stability and of opportunity. That is an area of focus that the international community is focusing on, said Ramdin.
