The head of the United Nations says there is a possibility that Haiti’s crisis-wracked political transition, already in its fourth year since the 2021 murder of the country’s president, may not meet its elections timeline to restore democracy and put a new president in office by February of 2026.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres made the observation in his latest report to members of the U.N. Security Council, who met on Wednesday as part of their regular quarterly updates on the deteriorating crisis in Haiti.

Guterres said that while a nine-member Transitional Presidential Council, made up of representatives of Haitian political parties and civil society groups, had made some progress by naming a provisional elections body to stage the vote, the political progress was threatened by setbacks.

They include the November prime ministerial reshuffling triggered by disagreements over power-sharing, and corruption allegations involving three members of the ruling council. All are fueling waning public confidence in the political transition and contributing to a climate of violence, he said. The escalating violence, last year, led to Haiti’s bloodiest year with more than 5,600 people killed by armed gangs and over 1 million displaced.

With progress on the transition map “worryingly slow,” there is a risk that Haiti could fail to complete the steps outlined in a governance pact that was agreed upon in March of last year to put a new president in office by February, Guterres said.

“Simply put, the goal of restoring democratic institutions by February 2026 is in jeopardy,” he said. “Disagreements among authorities and stakeholders on power-sharing and ways to strengthen transitional governance have hindered progress. Ongoing allegations of corruption risk further eroding public trust in the political transition.”

In March, as a newly united coalition of armed gangs raided Port-au-Prince’s two largest prisons and attacked key government infrastructures in hopes of toppling the government, the international community, led by the United States and Caribbean Community, met in Jamaica to help Haiti’s factious leaders craft out a new transition.

A governance pact led to the creation of the ruling council made up of seven voting member and two observers. Acting as the executive, they were tasked with restoring law and order by appointing a new prime minister and caretaker government, welcoming a Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission to help fight gangs and paving the way for elections and constitutional reform in order to end the transition with the swearing in of a newly elected president.

If the elections do not take place on time, the question then becomes what happens to the current transitional government. Haiti’s elections experts have said under the best of circumstances it takes 8 to 18 months to stage a vote.

On Wednesday, as Security Council members condemned the escalating brutal acts of violence and called for more financial assistance for the under-resourced and under funded Kenya-led security mission, they also noted that the crisis engulfing the transition is also affecting elections.

“We see that the Transitional Presidential Council has failed to convince the Haitians of its legitimacy and effectiveness,” Russian Federation representative Vassily Nebenzia, said. “The prospects for holding general elections within the agreed time frame are illusory.”

Nebenzia said Haiti’s rising murders and acts of violence, which include gang attacks on three U.S. commercial jetliners in November, put the Caribbean nation on par with States struggling with internal armed conflicts.

“It is not by chance that crime and lawlessness are raging in the country, it is something that the vacuum of power results in, which manifests itself in the lack of democratically-elected authorities in the country and has lasted for several years already,” he said.

It was unfortunate, Nebenzia said, that the temporary structure “created according to the foreign templates are not coping with the tasks assigned to them and have already used up the trust placed on them.”

The three members of the presidential council, Smith Augustin, Louis Gérald Gilles and Emmanuel Vertilaire have all maintained their innocence, and mounted legal challenges against the accusations they tried to shake down the director of a state-owned bank in exchange for him keeping his job. In December, the country’s Anti-Corruption Unit recommended that criminal charges be pursued against the presidential counselors for alleged abuse of office, bribery and corruption. Although an investigating judge summoned them for questioning, the three counselors failed to comply with the summons.

James Kariuki, the United Kingdom’s deputy permanent representative to the U.N., said the violence and political instability are having a profound effect on Haitian lives.

“At least one Haitian was killed, kidnapped or injured every hour as a result of gang violence in 2024,” he said. “Gangs continue to use executions, kidnappings and sexual violence as tools of oppression against civilians.

Geng Shuang, deputy permanent representative of the People’s Republic of China to the U.N. said the “incessant fights among parties and factions, announced acts of abuse of power and corruption” are rendering the goal of completing the transition “elusive.”

“The long standing absence of legitimate authorities and vacuum inside governance have plundered Haiti into vicious external support and jeopardize the confidence of the Haitian people and the international community’s prospects. “

Geng said “it is heart wrenching to see innocent people suffer as a result,” of the gang violence.

Guterres’ noted that the upsurge in violence had also caused the political mission to progressively shut down an increasing number of services it depended on. The mission’s main cable connecting Haiti to the Internet has been repeatedly cut by armed gangs over the past three months, heavily compromising cellular and wifi connectivity for up to three days at a time, his report stated. Also, the closure of the international airport and the ransacking and burning down of one of the last critical care hospitals has also forced the mission to go down to a skeleton staff and having to rely on a single medical doctor.

“The transitional government should prioritize governance over competing personal and political interests. Now is not the time for political infighting,” Dorothy Camille Shea, the United States’ representative on the council said.

Shea reiterated the U.S.’s calls for the transitional council to set conditions for free and fair elections.

“We strongly encourage Haitian efforts aimed at addressing corruption allegations and promoting transparency and accountability. These measures are essential for the transition government to maintain the trust of the Haitian people,” she said.

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