Ministers from seven Latin American countries and representatives from the United Nations and Organization of American States (OAS) met here on Monday to discuss the planned elections in Haiti.

According to the local media, deputy ministers for defense and foreign relations from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador and Guatemala attended the meeting, along with OAS head Jose Miguel Insulza and UN representative Juan Gabriel Valdez.

Haiti is set to hold general elections due on Feb. 7, with a second round, if needed, on March 19.

Haiti needs to choose a government to replace the current interim cabinet, which took power after the overthrow of former leader Jean Bertrand Aristide in 2004. The presidential vote, in which 35 are standing as candidates, has been postponed three times to date.

Source: Xinhua