On September 12, 2026, Haiti’s Conseil Électoral Provisoire (CEP) issued Note de Presse CEP/DC/058-2526, formally opening the window for depositing candidacy declarations for the country’s upcoming elections. Read alongside the underlying Décret Électoral (published in Le Moniteur, Special No. 27, June 2, 2026), the notice sets in motion one of the most document-intensive candidacy processes in the hemisphere. Here’s what the press release actually says, and — drawing directly from the decree’s own text — the complete list of what every candidate must produce to be considered.

What the CEP’s Press Release Actually Announces

The note is procedural, but its procedural details matter enormously for candidates navigating a compressed timeline. Three things stand out:

1. The filing window is short and fixed: September 13–22, 2026. Ten days, no more, for every candidate at every level of Haiti’s electoral system to assemble and deposit a complete dossier.

2. Filing locations depend on the office sought. Senate candidates file with the Bureau Électoral Départemental (BED) of their department. Deputy and local-collectivity candidates file with the territorially competent Bureau Électoral Communal (BEC). Presidential and Senate candidates for the West department file specifically at BED Ouest I, housed at the CEP annex on Route de Frères.

3. Several communes have been rerouted to centralized offices to keep the process moving. The CEP flagged specific logistical constraints: deputy and local-collectivity candidates from Carrefour, Gressier, Kenscoff, Cabaret, Cornillon/Grand-Bois, Croix-des-Bouquets, Fonds-Verrettes, Ganthier, Thomazeau, and Port-au-Prince III will file directly at BED Ouest I rather than their local BEC. Similarly, candidates from Grande-Saline, La Chapelle, Liancourt, Marchand-Dessalines, Montrouis, Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite, and Verrettes file at the BED of Artibonite, while Mirebalais and Saut-d’Eau candidates file at the BED of Centre. This kind of rerouting is typically a practical response to security or capacity constraints in the affected communes, several of which have experienced significant gang-related instability in recent years.

The note closes with the CEP’s now-standard language reaffirming its commitment to conducting the process inclusively, impartially, transparently, and responsibly — language worth noting given how closely the actual document checklist that follows will be scrutinized by every party watching for uneven enforcement.

The press release tells candidates when and where to file. The decree itself — specifically Title IV, Chapter 1, and Articles 152 through 160 — tells them what. This is where the process becomes genuinely demanding.

Step One: The Online Declaration Form (Article 152)

Before assembling paper documents, every candidate completes an online candidacy declaration form. Per Article 152, the form itself must capture:

  1. The exact day, date, month, and year of the declaration;
  2. Full name, sex, age, date and place of birth;
  3. Nationality;
  4. The specific elective office sought;
  5. Civil (marital) status;
  6. The CEP-issued information-form number assigned to the candidate;
  7. A complete inventory of every supporting document submitted alongside the declaration.

Step Two: The 26-Item Supporting Document Checklist (Article 153)

This is the heart of the filing requirement, and it is exhaustive. Per Article 153, a candidacy dossier is only admissible if it includes all of the following:

  1. A notarized copy, certified true to the original, of a valid national identification card;
  2. A notarized copy of the birth certificate or archival extract;
  3. For presidential candidates specifically: a notarized property title proving ownership of at least one property in the country;
  4. For legislative candidates: a notarized property title in the relevant department or district, or proof of exercising a profession or trade there;
  5. A notarized receipt for the Contribution Foncière des Propriétés Bâties (property tax) if the candidate owns property;
  6. A certificate from Haiti’s Immigration and Emigration Directorate confirming the candidate does not hold a passport or other travel document from any country other than Haiti (this requirement does not apply to local-collectivity candidates, and must be issued within eight days of request, with proof of the request submitted if the certificate itself is delayed);
  7. A criminal-record certificate (casier judiciaire) less than six months old, from the court of the candidate’s domicile, confirming no prior conviction carrying an afflictive or infamous penalty;
  8. A notarized sworn statement (attestation sur l’honneur) confirming the candidate has never been detained in Haiti or abroad for economic crimes, sexual violence, arms or drug trafficking, kidnapping, or any other criminal offense;
  9. An electronic version of the candidate’s chosen campaign emblem, plus a color printout on 8.5×11″ paper;
  10. A discharge certificate (certificat de décharge de gestion) for any candidate who previously managed public funds;
  11. A residency/domicile attestation issued free of charge by the local Justice of the Peace, following an on-site verification, with an accompanying report;
  12. If applicable, an attestation confirming the candidate is the officially designated nominee of a political party, grouping, or regrouping of parties, issued by that party structure;
  13. A clean police record certificate from the Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire (DCPJ);
  14. A notarized copy of the candidate’s asset-declaration filings, if the candidate was subject to that legal obligation;
  15. For government members, senior officials, general directors, interim executive agents, or state contract beneficiaries: a notarized resignation letter with proof of receipt, filed within the legally required window;
  16. For delegates, vice-delegates, judicial-branch officers, and senior civil servants of equivalent rank: a notarized resignation letter with proof of receipt, filed at least two months before the candidacy registration period closes;
  17. For national civil-service agents: a notarized leave-of-absence letter (mise en disponibilité) signed by the competent authority, within two months of the registration period’s end;
  18. Proof that the candidate is no longer a state concessionaire, contractor, or representative of one, for public-service operations;
  19. Tax compliance attestations from the Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI) confirming timely filing of final tax declarations for each of the past five years — attestations covering periods outside the legally due fiscal year are explicitly not accepted;
  20. A certificate from the Banque de la République d’Haïti (BRH) confirming the candidate is not an insolvent debtor, is not bankrupt, is not barred from using checks, and has no history of repeated payment incidents;
  21. Certificates from the Office National d’Assurance Vieillesse (ONA) and the Fonds de Développement Industriel (FDI) confirming the candidate is not an insolvent debtor to either institution;
  22. A DGI receipt confirming payment of the registration fee set by the decree (see fee schedule below);
  23. A duly completed and signed CEP information form;
  24. Four recent passport-style ID photos with the candidate’s name written on the back, plus a digital version;
  25. A curriculum vitae detailing academic background, professional experience, and other relevant profile information;
  26. A medical certificate from an MSPP-licensed physician confirming the candidate is in good health.

Independent candidates face an additional threshold requirement: a list of supporters in good standing of their civil and political rights, with full names, sex, and valid national ID numbers (NINU), in quantities scaled to the office sought — 150,000 supporters for a presidential candidacy, 25,000 for the Senate, 5,000 for the Chamber of Deputies, and 1,000 for local-collectivity office.

The Consequences of an Incomplete File

Article 154 offers one narrow exemption: local-collectivity candidates are not required to prove property ownership. Beyond that, the decree is unambiguous. Article 155 states that any dossier missing even a single required document is declared inadmissible by the BEC or BED — and, notably, the president of a BEC or BED who knowingly accepts and forwards an incomplete file faces immediate removal from their post, independent of any civil or criminal liability. This is a meaningfully strict enforcement mechanism, designed to prevent local election officials from waving through favored candidates with incomplete paperwork.

Registration Fees

Beyond the documentary checklist, Articles 156–159 impose non-refundable registration fees, paid via certified check to the Trésor Public/Élections account:

  • Presidential candidate: 2,000,000 gourdes
  • Senate candidate: 800,000 gourdes
  • Deputy candidate: 300,000 gourdes
  • Municipal Council candidate slate: 100,000 gourdes
  • CASEC candidate slate: 25,000 gourdes
  • ASEC candidate slate: 25,000 gourdes

Women candidates for the presidency and legislative offices, and candidates with disabilities, receive a 50% reduction on these fees under Articles 158 and 159.

Why This Matters for the Current Filing Window

Set against the ten-day window the CEP just announced, this checklist reveals the real operational challenge facing Haiti’s 2026 candidates. Several items — the DGI five-year tax compliance history, the BRH solvency certificate, the immigration directorate’s foreign-passport certificate, the notarized resignation letters for sitting officials — require coordination across multiple, often slow-moving state institutions, each with its own processing timeline that a candidate does not control. A criminal record certificate that’s more than six months old is automatically invalid, meaning even candidates who prepared documentation earlier in the year may need to refile it. For independent candidates, compiling a legally valid list of 150,000 named, NINU-verified presidential supporters within any realistic timeframe is itself a significant logistical undertaking, separate from the 26-document checklist entirely.

Given Article 155’s strict inadmissibility rule and the personal liability it imposes on BEC/BED officials, expect the September 13–22 window to produce visible friction — candidates whose otherwise-complete files are rejected over a single missing certificate, and public disputes over whether that rejection was procedurally correct or, as opposition parties will inevitably allege in a country where electoral disputes routinely turn contentious, selectively enforced.

This article is based on the CEP’s Note de Presse CEP/DC/058-2526 (September 12, 2026) and the Décret Électoral published in Le Moniteur, Special No. 27 (June 2, 2026). Readers with an active candidacy should confirm current requirements directly with the CEP or a Haitian electoral law practitioner, as decree provisions are occasionally subject to subsequent arrêtés or CEP clarifications not reflected in the original text.