On recognizing the problem

Gerard Latortue may extend Haiti's voter registration deadline due to low turnout. But he figures the problem is late registration, rather than the obvious explanation:

Latortue said he was optimistic at least one million people would register by the end of July, adding his goal is to see at least 2.5 million registered.

"My experience in Haiti is that people always wait until the last moment to register," he said...

Aristide supporters have also suggested many citizens are not interested in voting because his Lavalas Family party has so far not agreed to participate, an argument the interim government has dismissed.

The reality is that the last man repeatedly elected by the Haitian populace is now in exile, and his party successor is now in jail based on demonstrations by his opponents rather than on anything resembling evidence:

Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste, who has emerged as a possible Lavalas presidential contender, was sent to prison and told he could be charged in connection with the slaying of a prominent Haitian journalist...

Authorities said they detained Jean-Juste for questioning because of a "public clamour" for his arrest by angry demonstrators at the journalist's funeral Thursday.

To Latortue's credit, he hasn't acted on the insane suggestion that Lavalas be formally banned. But it should be obvious that whatever comes out of the next Haitian poll, it won't in any meaningful way resemble "fair and representative elections". By Latortue's own standards, failure is inevitable - and extending the deadline won't change that.