Over the last month, the political situation in Haiti has deteriorated sharply, threatening to derail considerable progress made by the Provisional Electoral Council towards holding free and fair elections and reestablishing a functioning legislature and local councils. In addition to political assassinations, orchestrated, violent street riots have erupted. We strongly urge Haitian President Rene Preval to restore public order and unequivocally signal that these attacks on the electoral process will not be tolerated by immediately launching credible, thorough investigations of these crimes. The Provisional Electoral Council is making the necessary arrangements to meet this deadline.
Time is of the essence.
President Preval must act now to work with the Provisional Electoral Council to set a firm date for the election as the OAS has urged. The Haitian people have come too far to see their hopes and dreams for a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic country destroyed. While we understand the difficulty of organizing elections, failure to hold them this month will seriously jeopardize the hard-won support for Haiti presently held by the American people and the international community. We pray that the Haitian government will take the immediate steps needed to avoid this outcome, which would signify an end to the support of the United States and the international community so crucial for Haiti's future.