Dr Surujbally to lead CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission for Haiti elections

Other members of the Mission will include experts in electoral management from Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

On October 9, voters in Haiti will elect a new president following the accepted but discarded presidential and legislative elections of October 25, 2015.

The presidential candidates who had led in the October 2015 poll are amongst the 27 now vying for the presidency.

If one of the 27 presidential candidates does not obtain over 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will take place on January 8, 2017. Voters will also elect a third of Senate seats, along with representatives to fill thousands of municipal posts.

For CARICOM, election observation serves as a platform to support existing democratic traditions within the Caribbean Community as part of its wider policy of supporting democracy.