In a climate of high political and institutional tensions, the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Me Patrick Pélissier, proceeded this Friday, June 5, 2026, with the installation of Mr. Uder Antoine as Director General of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP). The ceremony, which took place at the institution’s headquarters in Pétion-Ville, occurred despite fierce opposition from the majority of CEP members.
Although the government attempted to give an official character to this installation, several absences marked the event. Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé did not attend, leaving the Minister of Justice, Dr. Patrick Pélissier, to lead the ceremony.
Above all, apart from CEP President Jacques Desrosiers, no other electoral advisors were present. Mr. Desrosiers himself attended the ceremony very briefly. According to witnesses, he hastily left the room without speaking or exchanging any handshakes with the government officials present, an obvious sign of the discomfort and persistent disagreement.
Nevertheless, those present included the Secretary General of the Prime Minister’s Office, Jacques Francis Mary Gratia, and the Minister of Economy and Finance, Serge Gabriel Colin.
A standoff between the Government and the CEP
The appointment of Uder Antoine, until then Executive Director of the CEP, to the position of Director General, has provoked a genuine crisis of legitimacy. While relations had previously been cordial, the Electoral Council firmly opposed this promotion, arguing that the electoral decree drafted by the Prime Minister’s Office, on which this appointment is based, is “unconstitutional.”
In a resolution signed earlier by eight of the nine CEP members, Uder Antoine’s employment contract was terminated with immediate effect. The advisors had even banned him from entering the institution’s premises. This decision was ignored by the Executive Branch, which maintained its installation plan.
Jacques Desrosiers’s failed attempt at dialogue
Wanting to avoid an open confrontation, CEP President Jacques Desrosiers had sent an official letter to the Prime Minister on June 4, 2026, requesting an urgent meeting. In this letter, he warned that this disagreement “is on the verge of plunging the country even further into crisis.” He argued for dialogue to examine the “points of disagreement” and find a consensual solution.
However, until the installation ceremony took place, no official response from the Prime Minister’s Office was communicated to Mr. Desrosiers, although some sources report a favorable response from the Prime Minister for a possible meeting this weekend.
Uder Antoine calls to “Bury the Hatchet”
Faced with these tensions, the new Director General attempted to make an appeal for calm during his inaugural speech. “It’s not about who is right or wrong in the quarrels that preceded my taking office. It’s about knowing whether we are collectively capable of overcoming these disagreements to focus on the essential: organizing credible elections,” he declared.
Mr. Antoine, who says he is taking on his role with a “keen awareness,” promised to work in synergy with all Council members. He also invited the government to guarantee the administrative and financial autonomy of the CEP, which he considers a “sine qua non condition for the credibility of the process.”
The Government stands its ground
For its part, the government reaffirmed its determination to organize elections. In a press release issued after the ceremony, the Executive Branch presented this installation as “a major step in accelerating the electoral process,” in line with the Prime Minister’s vision centered on national priorities: security, elections, and economic recovery.
As the CEP now finds itself with a Director General imposed against the will of eight of its nine advisors, the unfolding events promise to be complex. The dialogue that Jacques Desrosiers is calling for seems more necessary than ever to resolve this institutional impasse as electoral deadlines approach.
