Haiti envoy wants to move past impasse

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NEW YORK, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- The U.N. envoy in Haiti says he wants to help the country move toward holding its Senate elections, which have been delayed for over a year.

Senate elections were scheduled to take place in to country in January 2012, but have been pushed back a number of times, the United Nations said in a release.

"The political elite are still trying to come to a consensus on the basis for organizing these elections," Nigel Fisher, the acting special representative of the secretary-general and head of the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti said Friday in New York.

Fisher said he plans to work with leaders in Haiti to set a date for elections by the end of 2013, a Transitional College for a permanent Electoral Council, and a political agreement to agree on steps to move towards elections.

"We need to constantly ask ourselves this question: 'How are our efforts going to improve their lives in a tangible way?'" Fisher said. "I understand and support fully the desire of Haitians to be in charge of their own country's affairs. And the role of the U.N. and other partners is to accompany them on this road. After all, what is sovereignty if it doesn't include all Haitians?"