Haiti Advances Toward Elections with Efforts to Ensure Women’s Equal Representation in the Democratic Process
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Haiti’s transitional process, ongoing since July 2021, is moving toward elections planned for 2026 under a newly announced electoral calendar. In this context, initiatives to mobilize women and support their effective participation are critical to ensuring that forthcoming democratic processes promote gender equality.
Despite some progress, women’s participation in governance in Haiti remains limited. Representation of women in key bodies such as the CPT and the Government falls below the minimum constitutional quota of 30%. Currently, women occupy 22.22% of government positions and 11.11% in the TPC, without voting rights. At the electoral level, women represent 27% of staff in departmental (BED) and communal (BEC) offices. The Truth, Justice and Reparation Commission comprises 42.85% women. This underrepresentation underscores persistent challenges to achieving gender equality in leadership and decision-making roles.
Haitian women, under the leadership of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Women’s Rights (MCFDF) and with the support of UN Women, have been actively engaged in the constitutional review process, advocating for concrete measures to ensure that the constitution’s minimum quota of 30% female representation is achieved and protected. Although the constitutional review process was suspended by the transitional authorities, the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) made significant efforts to ensure that concrete measures were retained in the draft electoral decree. These measures include: i) the rejection of any electoral list with less than 30% women, and ii) the establishment of an additional fund to be allocated to political parties that include more than 50 % of women among their candidates.
Following that achievement, the CEP and UN Women jointly launched a national campaign in Port au Prince (West department) on 12-13 November 2025, convening around 150 participants from all ten departments of Haiti, including 63 women from outside of the capital. The campaign aimed to mobilize women for effective political participation and raise awareness among political parties and the broader population about the transformative role women can play in governance, emphasizing the importance of their meaningful representation in the upcoming electoral processes.
These efforts were further reinforced through the government-supported departmental consultations held from 6 to 10 December and the National Conference on Women’s Political Participation and Electoral Violence from 12 to 14 December, which proved forums for dialogue and the development of targeted strategies. A key outcome of these collective efforts was the adoption of the Declaration of Haitian Women for Active and Effective Participation, issued during the national conference. This declaration reflects Haitian women’s commitment to fully engaged in the political process and affirms their right to play a decisive role in shaping the country’s future. It stands as a testament to their unwavering determination to overcome challenges and contribute meaningfully to advancing democracy and gender equality.