Jean Ernest Muscadin, the government commissioner in Miragoâne whose hard line against suspected gang members made him one of the most popular and most controversial officials in Haiti, registered on Wednesday, September 30, as a candidate for president.

Muscadin, 63, is running under the banner of the Fòs Chanjman Nasyonal (FCN) party. His candidacy had long been expected.

He built his public profile on an aggressive response to suspected gang members in Haiti's southern region, which has largely been spared the gang takeovers seen in Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite. But a United Nations report accused him of carrying out at least 28 summary executions of suspected gang members through September 2025.

His entry sharpens one of the central questions of the campaign: how far Haitians are willing to go to restore security, and at what cost to the rule of law.

Haiti is preparing for its first national elections in a decade, with the first round set for December 13. The electoral council had counted seven presidential candidates as of September 23.