Martelly files his candidacy: "I left a country standing"

Former president Michel Joseph Martelly submitted the documents for his presidential candidacy on Friday, October 23, 2026, under the banner of the DEBLOKE political platform. He used the occasion to compare the state of the country with the one he left when he stepped down in 2016.

"Mwen te kite yon peyi kanpe, jodi a li kouche plat atè," he said, according to Haiti News TV. Translation: "I left a country standing; today it is lying flat on the ground." He added: "Èske se listwa ki trase konsa, a chak fwa l kraze pou m leve l ankò? Yon sèl moun pap ka leve peyi a, se nou tout ki pou mete men pou chanje peyi a." That is: "Is history written this way, that every time it collapses, I must lift it up again? One person alone cannot lift the country up; all of us must join hands to change the country." The statement was filmed by Tele Pam.

At BED Ouest 1, in Pétion-Ville

According to Le Nouvelliste, the filing took place at the Departmental Electoral Bureau (BED) Ouest 1, on Route de Frères in Pétion-Ville. The former head of state, who had already registered online, was accompanied by several lawyers and followed by several hundred supporters, Le Nouvelliste and the AP news agency reported. Vant Bèf Info put the crowd at several thousand and said Commander Samuel Joazil, the DEBLOKE candidate for mayor of Port-au-Prince, accompanied him.

Juno7 and Le Placentin reported heavy traffic jams in the area for several hours. Supporters dressed in DEBLOKE colours chanted "Sweet Micky", his stage name, and police reinforced their presence around the office, according to Le Placentin.

Filing the documents does not mean the candidacy is approved: the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) still has to check whether the file complies with the rules. No CEP statement on his file had been made public at the time of writing.

Washington accuses him of facilitating drug trafficking and financing gangs; the EU says he contributed financially to insecurity and instability in Haiti. On October 9, the CEP dropped a rule targeting candidates sanctioned by foreign countries, which allows him to run, according to AP.

On Wednesday, October 28, the CEP published a revised electoral calendar: the first round of the presidential and legislative elections is moved to July 18, 2027, and the second round to October 4, 2027, instead of December 13, 2026. According to the Miami Herald, registration for presidential candidates has been extended to November 15.