As an IR graduate working on the ground in Cap-Haïtien, I am sick of hearing the phrase 'Haitian-led solution' used as a shield for political rot. Today, Michel Martelly registered for the December elections while gangs control the capital and 1.4 million of our people are displaced.

We love to talk about sovereignty, but whose sovereignty are we defending? The current 'Haitian-led' process is just a closed-door negotiation between the same failed political class and the criminal networks that sustain them. A survey by Chatham House shows 75% of us have zero trust in these politicians.

True ownership isn't just about the passport of the person in charge; it’s about institutional legitimacy. We cannot have a credible election while the CEP extends deadlines just to accommodate the elite, and young people are trapped by predatory peers serving personal agendas. If 'Haitian-led' means another transitional arrangement managed by the same actors who broke the system, then it is a hollow slogan. We need a radical inclusion of civil society and youth, or we are just legitimizing our own collapse.