Canceled Constitutional Referendum: When UNDP Demands Accountability

PORT-AU-PRINCE, December 1, 2025 – In a move reflecting growing concern over the transparency of public and international fund management in Haiti, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has formally summoned authorities to provide a detailed report on the use of nearly one million dollars allocated to the constitutional referendum, a project now abandoned. This request, addressed directly to the Secretary-General of the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT), Marie Elizabeth Régine Joseph Haddad, sets a deadline: November 30, 2025. A comprehensive report on “unaccounted for” funds In a letter dated November 20 and signed by its representative in Haiti, Xavier Michon, UNDP demands a “detailed report on the disbursement of 800,000 US dollars and 50 million gourdes.” These sums, channeled through Arnoux Descartes’ Volontariat pour le Développement d’Haïti (VDH), were intended for preparatory activities for the referendum. UNDP’s demand comes as the project, whose final text version was submitted on August 28, was interrupted without official public explanation. The CPT, through its president Laurent Saint-Cyr at the United Nations General Assembly, has since refocused on electoral discourse, remaining silent on the future of constitutional revision. *When credibility and governance are at stake* This request is not a mere administrative formality. For UNDP, it is about clarifying the use of public and international funds mobilized for a project that did not come to fruition. The persistent lack of accountability, according to several observers, constitutes a serious breach of good governance principles and undermines the trust of international partners as well as that of the Haitian population. The situation highlights a glaring deficit in transparency and institutional communication. To date, no official information has been made public regarding the progress of expenditures incurred before the referendum’s cancellation, nor the final destination of unused funds. In an already controversial legal and political context The constitutional referendum was contested from its launch by numerous legal experts and civil society organizations. They recall that the amended Haitian Constitution in force expressly prohibits any revision by referendum, reserving this power for the National Assembly. The abandonment of the process, coupled with the current financial opacity, only strengthens these criticisms and fuels suspicions of improvisation or mismanagement. Increased pressure on the transition UNDP’s ultimatum places the CPT in a delicate position. Its ability to respond clearly, with documentation, and within the allotted time will be scrutinized as a test of its willingness to break with opaque practices of the past. The stakes are high: it concerns the credibility of transitional authorities in managing public funds and their ability to ensure responsible use of international aid in a country grappling with an acute humanitarian and economic crisis. If the report is not provided or proves insufficient, the relationship between Haiti and its international financial partners, of which UNDP is a pillar, could be permanently affected. This matter raises fundamental questions about accountability, the planning of national-scale projects, and the obligation of results towards citizens and funders, especially when projects of such importance are suspended without clear explanation.