France is calling for a credible electoral process in Haiti after the country’s transitional authorities eliminated requirements that made it more difficult for individuals under sanctions from the European Union, Canada and the United States, as well as people who owe money to the government, to seek office.

Under the previous rules, candidates were required to provide a certificate from Haiti’s central bank attesting that they were not insolvent debtors, bankrupt or barred from using checkbooks. The requirement, intended as a safeguard against individuals who had lost access to banking services because of bilateral sanctions, has since been eliminated.

The revised decree also lowers the standard of financial responsibility for future lawmakers and the country’s next president. Candidates for office no longer need to present proof that they paid their taxes every year for the past five years — or that they do not have any outstanding debt to the national pension fund. They just need to show they are paid up on their taxes.

France’s new ambassador to Haiti, Gautier Lekens, raised the importance of integrity in the electoral process during a meeting with Haiti Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé. The exchange took place two days after the electoral decree was amended to ease eligibility requirements for those seeking to run for president, Parliament and local offices, and a day before a U.N. Panel of Experts on Haiti issued a scathing report implicating several high-profile and influential political figures in the country’s gang-fueled violence.

The U.N. investigation covered the period from October 2025 to July 2026, and detailed, among other things, how former parliamentarians and a mayor helped facilitate gang attacks against communities and warned gang leaders of impending police operations. The report also highlighted the limitation of the U.N. sanctions, which currently blacklists mostly gang leaders.

“I reaffirmed our commitment to a credible electoral process that allows Haitians to freely choose their leaders, with candidates who meet the integrity standards essential for a free and democratic election,” Lekens, who arrived in Haiti three weeks ago, said in a social media post following his meeting with Fils-Aimé. “I also reiterated France’s commitment to the sanctions regimes of the United Nations and the European Union.”

The EU, led by pressure from France, has imposed sanctions on nine individuals, including three prominent political figures: former senators Youri Latortue and Rony Célestin and former President Michel Martelly.

The U.N. sanctions list by contrast, has just one politician, a former member of Parliament. The current report cites about a dozen individuals, but efforts to include them is facing resistance inside the U.N. Security Council, whose members are scheduled to meet on Thursday in New York to discuss renewal of Haiti’s sanctions regime.

Lekens underscored the importance of ensuring that Haiti’s next leader meets international standards of integrity.

“The future president of Haiti must be able to represent the country with dignity, defend its interests, and act in the best interests of its people—both within Haiti and on the international stage,” he said.

Diplomatic unease

The diplomat’s remarks come amid diplomatic unease over the latest revisions to the electoral decree, the third in four months. Although the revised decree maintains a prohibition against candidates under sanctions by the U.N. Security Council, there is concern that the new changes open the door for figures accused of corruption and supporting armed gangs to compete in the long-overdue general elections.

Though Haiti has scheduled its long-delayed vote for Dec. 13, the date is expected to be postponed after the Provisional Electoral Council last week also extended deadlines and announced online registration of voters. Diplomats in Haiti had raised concerns about the modifications ahead of publication. But those concerns went unheeded. Of particular concern has been the lack of any response from Washington.

Despite support for the U.N.-authorized Gang Suppression Force, which has started to deploy in other areas of the Haitian capital, the Trump administration has remained publicly silent on the revised electoral decree and the possibility that politicians under sanctions could make up Haiti’s next government.

Fils-Aimé is expected to be among the leaders from the Caribbean invited to a meeting Thursday at the U.S. State Department, where Haiti observers will be watching for signs that the Trump administration shares the concerns of France and other foreign governments. On Friday, the U.N. Security Council will meet on renewing the sanctions for Haiti. On Oct. 22, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, who heads the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti and serves as special representative to U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, is scheduled to provide a briefing to the Security Council on Haiti.

Humanitarian dollars

On Monday, Guterres’ office announced that the Haiti Humanitarian Fund has allocated an additional $75 million to support people affected by violence and displacement across the country.

The funding will support 10 projects in the West, Center and Artibonite regions, reaching more than 500,000 people with assistance, including clean water, healthcare and shelter. Part of the funding will go directly to local Haitian organizations, including a women-led consortium that is working on the front lines of the violence.

“Humanitarian needs, however, remain immense,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, told reporters in New York. “More than six million people in Haiti require assistance and 1.5 million have been displaced. With the Humanitarian Response Plan still less than half funded, we continue to call for more funds.”

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