Haiti will need 18 months to organize elections following last month's armed rebellion and the departure of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a UN adviser on the impoverished Caribbean nation said today.
Envoy Mr Reginald Dumas, who just returned from a 10-day visit to Haiti and a meeting of Caribbean nations, also said the UN Security Council accepted that countries needed "to get away from a stop-start cycle" on aid to Haiti and give it sustained, long-term assistance.
"Some people feel that elections should be held not later than the end of the year," Dumas told reporters after briefing the 15-member council. "The consensus that I have detected is a transition period of about 18 months to the holding of elections, but less if possible."
UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan appointed Mr Dumas on February 26th to the new post of special adviser. He has been working with a UN assessment team laying the groundwork for an eventual peacekeeping operation to help Haiti rebuild after the revolt and Mr Aristide's departure.
The Security Council asked Mr Annan to make recommendations by the end of March on the UN mission's size and goals before it takes over from a US-led multinational force around the beginning of June.