House Haiti Caucus Statement on Postponement of Haiti's Constitutional Referendum

Press Release

The House Haiti Caucus co-chairs released the following statement following news that the Haitian government will postpone the planned June 27 constitutional referendum to an unannounced date:

"This proposed constitutional referendum, widely considered to be illegal, should not be held at all. It will only enable government abuses of power and accelerate Haiti's path toward authoritarianism. We are pleased by Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement before the House Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday, affirming that the referendum should not take place and look forward to working with the Biden administration to ensure a Haitian-led solution to the current political crisis.

"This postponement occurs amidst a surge of COVID-19 cases in Haiti. We are devastated by the suffering and loss of life that has occurred and stand ready to support the Haitian people during this public health crisis. We are heartened that the Biden administration has made the provision of vaccines to Haiti a priority and will continue pushing for that distribution to happen urgently."

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