As Haiti prepares for its upcoming general elections, new daily data published by the nation’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) on September 27, 2026, offers a comprehensive snapshot of candidate registration trends, highlighting persistent demographic disparities and incomplete compliance with national gender representation rules.
Breaking down the distribution of candidates across all elected positions, legislative seats draw the largest pool of contenders by a wide margin. A total of 580 candidates have registered to run for Member of Parliament, while 195 are seeking Senate seats. For local government offices, 274 candidates are vying for CASEC positions, 260 have put their names forward for mayor, and 160 are running for ASEC seats. At the top of the ticket, the presidential race remains a compact contest, with only 10 candidates formally registered to date, all of whom are men representing different Haitian political parties.
An analysis of the demographic breakdown of all candidates reveals a stark overrepresentation of middle-aged men across all races. Nearly 85% of all contenders fall between the ages of 31 and 60: the 31–45 age bracket accounts for 42.5% of all candidates, followed closely by the 46–60 group at 42.1%. Young candidates aged 18 to 30 make up just 5.3% of the total, while candidates 60 and older represent 10.1%. In terms of gender, men hold an overwhelming 79% of all registered candidacies, leaving women with just a 21% share overall.
Geographically, candidate numbers and female participation vary dramatically across Haiti’s departments. The Southeast department has the highest total number of candidates at 282, followed by the South with 243 and the West with 169. Female candidate shares also shift sharply by region: the Southeast leads with 27.7% women candidates, while the share drops to 15.6% in Artibonite, 15.1% in the Northeast, and hits a low of just 13.9% in Grand’Anse.
These figures also show that Haiti has not met its constitutional mandate requiring a minimum 30% female candidate quota, outlined in Article 17.1 of the national constitution. The shortfall is most acute in national-level races: there are no women candidates in the 10-person presidential field, women make up just 6.7% of all Chamber of Deputies candidates, and only 13.8% of Senate candidates. By contrast, local and territorial offices exceed the 30% requirement: 33.5% of mayoral candidates, 33.6% of CASEC candidates, and 41.3% of ASEC candidates are women.
Tracking the timeline of registration activity, daily volumes held steady between September 21 and 25, with an average of 80 to 100 new applications submitted each day. A slight dip to 59 registrations was recorded on September 26, followed by zero new applications on September 27, a sign that the candidate registration window is set to close imminently.
One high-profile candidacy remains unresolved as of the latest data update: former leader Michel Martelly, who registered online on September 22 under the DEBLOKE party banner, has not yet received final approval from the CEP. The CEP confirmed that Martelly’s application is currently undergoing in-depth legal review, noting that online registration alone does not equal final validation. All candidate applications are being assessed for compliance with physical and legal documentation requirements, the council added.
The electoral body is on schedule to release its preliminary list of approved candidates on September 29, 2026, with the final official list of qualifying candidates set for publication on October 14. It is at that time that a final decision on Martelly’s candidacy and all other pending applications will be announced.