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Secretary Hillary R.

Clinton
Secretary of State
U.S. State Department
2201 C Street NW
Washington DC 20520

October 8, 2010

Dear Madame Secretary,

As Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, we have taken and continue to take the second goal
of Peace Corps seriously: the promotion of a better understanding of Americans on the
part of the peoples served. In our capacity as Returned Peace Corps Volunteers concerned
with demonstrating our government’s commitment to the American values of political
freedom and democracy, we are writing to urge the U.S. government to work with the
Haitian government and international partners to ensure that Haiti’s upcoming elections
are free, fair and inclusive.

Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) has scheduled parliamentary and presidential
elections for November 28th of this year, elections postponed due to the devastating
January 12 earthquake. We are deeply concerned that the CEP has barred more than a
dozen political parties from presenting candidates in the elections without serious
justification. We are also dismayed to note that, as yet, no serious measures appear to
have been taken to guarantee that the over one million Haitians that have been displaced
by the earthquake will be able to vote. The United States government has committed
important funding to these elections and is playing a key role within the OAS Group of
Friends of Haiti to assist with the electoral process; it therefore has a real responsibility to
make certain that these elections serve to strengthen Haiti’s fragile democracy rather than
further undermine it.

Current Challenges to the Electoral Process

Haiti currently faces three major challenges relating to the upcoming elections: a
legitimacy crisis for the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP); the exclusion of a number
of political parties from the electoral process; and the ability to provide voter identity
cards and access to the polls for all eligible voters, particularly those displaced by the
earthquake.

The CEP – the state authority in charge of organizing and controlling electoral processes
– currently has limited constitutional legitimacy or credibility in Haiti because: a) the
CEP was established through a process not recognized by the Haitian Constitution; b) it
has announced the unjustified exclusion of more than a dozen parties from the November
28, 2010 elections; c) the current CEP is rocked by scandals, with one member resigning
this month in the face of corruption charges.

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) reported in April 2010 that,
‘‘giving the mandate of organizing the upcoming elections to the current CEP would
mean that the electoral process will be considered flawed and questionable from the
beginning.’’ Haitian voters and political organizations from across the political spectrum
as well as important actors in the international community, including Senator Richard
Lugar of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and IFES, consider that a new CEP
should be established as they consider that the Council’s actions and current
controversies demonstrate an inability to conduct fair, inclusive elections. Nevertheless,
President Préval continues to insist that the current CEP run the scheduled elections.

A second major concern is the exclusion of more than a dozen parties from the electoral
process, including Haiti’s most popular party Fanmi Lavalas (FL). As was the case in
April of 2009, in which fewer than 10% of the electorate turned out to vote, the continued
exclusion of electoral candidates will undermine the legitimacy of the upcoming
November elections and could lead to political and social unrest that could greatly hinder
Haiti’s reconstruction and development plans, and imperil U.S. investments in Haiti.

Representatives of the United Nations and the Organization of American States objected
to the CEP’s exclusions of political parties from the elections in April 2009 and the U.S.
Embassy in Haiti stated that “under the law, elections should involve all major parties...
An election based on the exclusion... will inevitably question the credibility of elections
in Haiti among donors and friends of Haiti.” However, despite this strong criticism, the
US government provided significant funding for the electoral process and chose to
recognize the election outcome.

We are also concerned by the lack of effective measures underway to guarantee that the
hundreds of thousands of eligible voters among the over 1.5 million people displaced by
the earthquake are assured the identification cards (Cartes d’identité nationale – CINs)
required for voting as well as reliable and uncomplicated access to the polls on election
day. We are encouraged to learn that the OAS committed to providing 850,000 CINs to
new voters and the many Haitians who lost their cards in the earthquake.

However, we note with dismay that no plan has yet been implemented for the enormous
and complex task of providing CINs to the hundreds of thousands of Haitians who need
them. It is imperative that in the coming weeks mobile teams be dispatched to IDP
camps and remote rural areas so as to distribute these cards effectively in time for the
November elections.

Furthermore, there is no indication that plans are underway to make voting centers
genuinely accessible to those in IDP camps. As the IFES has stated, polling centers need
to located near IDP camps and transportation must be provided for those who cannot
easily access the centers. Notwithstanding these measures, many of those most affected
by the earthquake will suffer the additional injustice of being disenfranchised in one of
the most important electoral processes of their lives.

Recommendations
The international community has an interest in promoting Haitian voters’ rights to fair
elections guaranteed by Haitian and international law, and protecting its $11 billion
pledged investment in Haiti’s reconstruction. In order to protect these interests, we urge
the United States to immediately take the following actions immediately:

1. Withhold financial support for elections until the CEP is replaced by a new Council
chosen through a process that ensures neutrality, competence and credibility with Haiti’s
voters.
2. Adopt a clear, firm position on the need for the upcoming elections to be free, fair and
open to all of Haiti’s political parties.
3. Promise adequate funding and technical assistance for a fairly-chosen CEP to prepare
elections.
This support should cover the following:
a. Production and distribution of the National Identification Cards (CINs) lost
or destroyed in the earthquake that are a legal requirement for voting.
b. Updating of the electoral list. Photographs on the CIN and indelible ink can
also be used to combat multiple voting.
c. Placing of polling stations in areas allowing internally displaced, poor, and
disabled Haitians to participate.
d. Provision of extensive voter education through media campaigns and
community meetings.

We urge the U.S. Administration to carry out the aforementioned actions in the most
expedient manner possible. The upcoming elections will set the stage for long-term
reconstruction efforts and if they are to unfold successfully urgent action is required.

We thank you in advance for your prompt attention to the concerns raised in this letter,
and we look forward to your response.

Sincere regards,

Kevin F. F. Quigley, Ph.D.


President, National Peace Corps Association
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer
Thailand 1976-1979

Neil W. Ross
Founding President & Board Member, Friends of the Dominican Republic
(www.fotdr.org)
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer
Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic, 1962-64

Group of 120 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who recently served the Dominican
Republic
(first number designates year of entry, second number indicates membership to first or
second group of that year:)
1. David Garfunkel 07-02
2. Kaveh Azimi 06-02
3. Stephanie Brewer 08-01
4. Jennifer Taylor 08-01
5. Renata Sancken 08-01
6. Michal Gutowski 08-01
7. Keane Bhatt 08-01
8. Peter Mach 08-01
9. Arianna Baseman 08-01
10. Patrick Davis 07-02
11. Chris Ward 08-01
12. Ryan Stock 07-01
13. Katherine Tuider 07-02
14. Taylor Joyal 08-01
15. Amy Martin 08-01
16. Maayan Melamed 07-02
17. Neal Riemer 06-01
18. Maryam Toossi 07-02
19. Beth Plewa 07-02
20. Iris Laurencio 06-01
21. Asahi Wada 08-01
22. Tim Brown 08-01
23. Joel Alex 08-01
24. Jennifer Bailey 08-01
25. Ryan Schweitzer 06-02
26. Danny Wilson 07-02
27. Adrienne Gilbert 06-02
28. Claudette Banda 07-02
29. Benjamin Berry 07-02
30. Katherine Valle 08-01
31. Lily Mendelson 07-02
32. Andrea Pestone 04-02
33. Bobby Lehman 07-02
34. Jonathan Santiago 06-02
35. Joanna Carman 07-02
36. Dilana Pickett Martinez 07-02
37. Charley Requadt 07-02
38. Joan Perreault 06-02
39. Erin Kirkbride 06-02
40. Jennifer Goode 07-02
41. Gerda Stefanovic 07-02
42. Megan Rounesville 06-02
43. Emily Marchese 07-02
44. Tara Loftis 07-02
45. Kimberly Dykwell 07-02
46. Rob Gradoville 07-02
47. Christina Ygoña 06-02
48. Esperanza Garcia 07-02
49. David Mayo 06-02
50. Todd Schweitzer 07-02
51. Alicia Srinivas 07-01
52. Gary Vance 04-02
53. Emily Babbitt 06-02
54. Danielle Hunt 08-01
55. Becky Spachek 06-02
56. Daniel Anson 05-02
57. Jenna Dickerson 08-01
58. Mica Jenkins 08-01
59. Trina Mintern 08-01
60. Victor Galvan 08-01
61. Tod Haggard 07-02
62. Stephanie Winter 07-01
63. Sara Taylor 07-02
64. Lori Holmes Cabrera 07-01
65. Matt Whitnall 06-02
66. Pamela Schreier 07-02
67. Iosefa Alofaituli 06-02
68. Kevin Schmitz 07-01
69. Ben Prickel 08-01
70. Kevin Siedlecki 07-02
71. Jessica Moskowitz 07-02
72. Enrique Franco 06-02
73. Emily Matuzek 07-02
74. Melissa Watson 06-02
75. Laura Romah 06-02
76. Angela Hamilton 06-02
77. Melissa Esmero 06-02
78. Jill Abney 06-02
79. Maria Davidsmeier 06-02
80. Chanel Crone 06-02
81. Cheryl Holub 07-02
82. Marin Kirby de Leon 06-02
83. Stephanie Giddings 06-02
84. Mark Choi 06-02
85. Morgen Warner 06-02
86. Kaitlyn Kubinsky 07-02
87. Aaron Arnoldy 06-02
88. Laurel Tanza 08-01
89. Molly Rosenberg 05-02
90. Courtney Briar Pichardo 05-02
91. Samantha Wapnick 05-01
92. Michelle Sutton 06-01
93. Drew Rabidoux 05-02
94. Michael Menelli 06-01
95. Tilden Keller 05-02
96. Tommy Ventre 05-01
97. Elizabeth Bougher Garcia 05-01
98. Van Smith 04-02
99. Lisa Wiggleton 05-02
100. Greg Mitchell 04-02
101. Jill Higgins 04-01
102. Joseph Blotnick 04-01
103. Katie Galvin 05-01
104. Rebecca Anderson 06-01
105. Callie Simon 05-02
106. Jenny Galasso 06-01
107. Helen Mao 06-01
108. Adam W. Matteson 06-01
109. Angela Bennett 04-02
110. Brandon K. Betty 05-01
111. Dawn O. Phillips 06-01
112. Charles R. Phillips 06-01
113. Katie Devine 06-02
114. Alexis Loerke 05-02
115. Lisa Daugherty 03-02
116. Yee Chen 05-02
117. Yuriko de la Cruz 04-02
118. Stacey Ngo 07-02
119. Megan R Drake-Pereyra 06-02
120. Kate Cavallin 07-02

CC: Paul Farmer, Deputy Special Envoy to Haiti, United Nations


Cheryl Mills, Chief of Staff, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor,
US Department of State
Julissa Reynoso, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central American and Caribbean Affairs,
US Department of State
Paul Weisenfeld, Haiti Task Team Coordinator, USAID

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