The United States has urged Haiti to speed up planning for its elections, now scheduled for mid-December.
In New York Tuesday, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Washington expects Port-au-Prince to work with greater speed and efficiency in organizing the elections.
The balloting for president and 129 parliamentary seats was first slated for October, then postponed until November. Haiti's interim prime minister, Gerard Latortue, told U.N. officials Tuesday the elections will now be held between December 11 and 18.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council urged Haitian authorities to work with the U.N. Stabilization Mission to develop an electoral plan. It said national reconciliation and political dialogue should be promoted as a means to ensure long-term stability and good governance.
The elections will be the first since former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled the country in February 2004.
Some information in this story provided by AP.
