The Commission is aware of the need to have a legal basis and to respect proportionality when interfering with the enjoyment of the right to be elected. The mere accusation or public knowledge or perception of an individual’s role in gang violence would hardly meet these criteria. Yet, in the situation of chaos which prevails in Haiti, the risk of gang members running as candidates should be avoided. The Commission notes that on 18 October 2024, the United Nations Security Council renewed for one year the sanctions regime on Haiti3 – including targeted measures applying to designated individuals, in particular assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo measures – aimed at curbing the illicit flow of weapons to criminal gangs. The sanction regime’s designation criteria include engaging in or supporting criminal activities and violence involving armed groups and criminal networks. The so-called 2653 Haiti Sanctions Committee has designated among others the leader of a gang and a former member of the Haitian parliament allegedly involved in arms trafficking.4 Sanctions were also taken by the European Union, by the USA5 and by other countries such as Canada.6 Exceptionally, a possible, and certainly only partial, solution could be to use the imposition of individual sanctions (until the closing date of nominations to be a candidate) as basis for ineligibility (while underlying the need to safeguard due process for listed individuals7). This is valid for elections at all levels, including the local one.