A/HRC/28/82 in 2012 but, as of December 2013, no date had yet been set. Similar observations had been made by previous Independent Experts. In 2006, for instance, Louis Joinet stated that, at the time of completion of his report, he was unaware, owing to repeated deferrals, of the date and under what political circumstances the elections would be held (E/CN.4/2006/115, para. 79). 59. During his July 2014 mission, the Independent Expert saw progress in the fact that the Government had set a date of 26 October 2014 for the first round of parliamentary and local elections and 28 December for the second round. These elections had been postponed several times since 2011. A number of concerns, however, led him to wonder if the elections could in fact take place on those dates. For instance, the parliament would need to enact electoral legislation before the end of the legislature on the second Monday of September 2014; the make-up of the provisional Electoral Board was being contested by six opposition parties; and the logistical preparations for the elections would take 120 days as from the promulgation of the electoral act. 60. Those doubts were confirmed when 26 October came and went and no elections were held. The Government announced that the Senate had not taken a decision on the draft electoral legislation approved by the Chamber of Deputies and that the elections would be held in 2015 pursuant to regulations that would be issued in a presidential decree. 61. Many observers had forecast that the Senate would not be able to adopt an electoral law given the body’s calendar and, in particular, because only two thirds of the Senate seats were occupied; the terms of the remaining third had expired and not been renewed in the absence of legislative elections. With the terms of another third of the senators and a number of members of the Chamber of Deputies coming to an end in January 2015, that means there will no longer be a parliament at that point and the Government would take the place of the legislature by way of presidential decrees until such time as elections are held. Such a scenario presents a grave danger for democratic rule. 62. Political confrontation has always been a highly sensitive issue in Haiti and it continues to be so. It is thus all the more urgent that the competing political forces reach agreement on a set of ground rules so that elections can be called. 63. The urgency of addressing this situation, as expressed by the Independent Expert, is echoed by the Human Rights Committee, which has recommended to the State party that it take, as a matter of highest priority, the necessary measures to organize the legislative and municipal elections that were to have been held in 2011 so as to guarantee effective access to citizens’ rights under article 25 of the Covenant (CCPR/C/HTI/CO/1, para. 20). 64. The consultative commission appointed by the President to find a solution to the election impasse recommended on 8 December 2014 that a new government be formed with participation of the opposition parties. Évans Paul was subsequently named Prime Minister on 25 December 2014. The commission also recommended that the President of the High Council of the Judiciary and the members of the provisional Electoral Council all step down; that was expected to happen in early January 2015. (ii) Other elements of the rule of law that need to be guaranteed 65. In his previous report, the Independent Expert identified a number of other areas where the weak rule of law was evident and where a concerted effort was required to strengthen it. These areas include the need for a reliable property registration system; the need for judges to be allowed adequate time to handle matters in their remit; deteriorating respect for the right to life, which casts doubts on the executive branch’s ability to protect this right and draws attention to the judiciary’s passive stance vis-à-vis these violent crimes (including those imputed to State actors, sexual violence and attacks against human rights 12 GE.15-02042