Former President Michel Martelly has registered online as a presidential candidate with Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council, the Haitian Times reported on Friday, October 16. He is the 16th person to do so.

Martelly, who led Haiti from 2011 to 2016, is running under Debloke, a coalition of 11 political parties whose leaders are mostly former lawmakers and members of his Parti Haïtien Tèt Kale (PHTK). He returned to Haiti on July 15 after years abroad.

Online registration is only a first step. Candidates must still file documents with the council's departmental offices before their candidacies can be validated.

Martelly is under sanctions from Canada (since November 2022), the United States (August 2024) and the European Union (December 2025) over allegations that include gang financing and drug trafficking. A recent report by the UN Panel of Experts also accused him of helping to finance armed groups. He has denied the allegations. He is not on the UN sanctions list.

Until October 6, candidates had to submit a certificate from the central bank showing their assets were not frozen, which sanctioned people struggled to obtain. The revised electoral decree removed that requirement, leaving UN sanctions as the only bar.

His bid has drawn criticism from Haitians at home and abroad. “If it's true that he has registered, then he is already president because I don't see which candidate could stop him,” auto mechanic Ronmdy François told the newspaper. As of October 16, the council counted 16 presidential, 302 Senate and 1,050 Chamber of Deputies candidates. Registration closes October 31.