Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Haiti's unanswered questions
There were many things to celebrate after the first round of Haiti's presidential and parliamentary elections held last week.
After initial confusion around some polling stations, there was little violence on the day of voting.
Haitians turned out in record numbers. Some 63% of the 3.5 million registered voters cast ballots, far more than in any other election held since the Duvalier clan was ousted from power in 1986.
The voters showed a clear preference: Rene Preval, the man who was president from 1996 to 2000 and this time headed the L'Espwa (The Hope) movement.
The candidate in second place, with around 12% of the vote, was another former president, the Christian Democrat leader Leslie Manigat.
But Mr Preval has failed by a small margin to win the presidential contest outright and that leaves Haiti in a dangerous situation, with many unanswered questions.
Supporters of Mr Preval have taken to the streets, protesting that he was robbed of an outright victory.
They say the "international community" - principally the United States and France - does not want to see him back in power because in the past he has been a loyal supporter of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Mr Aristide's supporters claim that the United States and France kidnapped the president at the end of February 2004 and forced him into exile. Both countries have denied the allegations.
The supporters are now protesting that it was similar pressure which prevented Mr Preval winning an outright victory in the first round this time.
Any sign that the US is worried about his return to power could lead to further violence.
Pressure
Behind this is the biggest unanswered question of the Haitian elections. How many people voted for Mr Preval in the hope that he would bring back Mr Aristide?
When Mr Preval was president from 1996 to 2000, he acted as Mr Aristide's lieutenant, filling in for him because Mr Aristide could not be immediately re-elected.
He was duly replaced by Mr Aristide in 2001, after which there was a rapid breakdown of political stability.
But President Preval's four years in office were a period of relative calm, with some improvements in the Haitian economy, a more or less functioning parliament and efforts to revive local government.
Mr Preval kept out of the political violence of 2003-2004, and in the run-up to these elections has stressed that he is now his own man.
The problem he will have if he emerges triumphant from the second round is if those who voted for him press for an immediate return of Mr Aristide. They could make it impossible for him to govern effectively.
At the same time, if Mr Aristide does return, that would also make things difficult for a Preval government. The opposition would probably boycott parliament again, as it did in 2001-2004, and the political situation could once more quickly descend into chaos.
Another danger is that the opposition will choose to withdraw from the second round and from further voting for the 129 parliamentary seats also being contested.
Even before the first round, some opposition groups had threatened to pull out, claiming that a vote for Mr Preval was simply a vote for Mr Aristide.
If they now seek to undermine Mr Preval before the second round of voting, due in March, they could plunge Haiti back into the widespread violence that led to Mr Aristide's downfall in 2004.
More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4711846.stm
Haitians turned out in record numbers. Some 63% of the 3.5 million registered voters cast ballots, far more than in any other election held since the Duvalier clan was ousted from power in 1986.
The voters showed a clear preference: Rene Preval, the man who was president from 1996 to 2000 and this time headed the L'Espwa (The Hope) movement.
The candidate in second place, with around 12% of the vote, was another former president, the Christian Democrat leader Leslie Manigat.
But Mr Preval has failed by a small margin to win the presidential contest outright and that leaves Haiti in a dangerous situation, with many unanswered questions.
Supporters of Mr Preval have taken to the streets, protesting that he was robbed of an outright victory.
They say the "international community" - principally the United States and France - does not want to see him back in power because in the past he has been a loyal supporter of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Mr Aristide's supporters claim that the United States and France kidnapped the president at the end of February 2004 and forced him into exile. Both countries have denied the allegations.
The supporters are now protesting that it was similar pressure which prevented Mr Preval winning an outright victory in the first round this time.
Any sign that the US is worried about his return to power could lead to further violence.
Pressure
Behind this is the biggest unanswered question of the Haitian elections. How many people voted for Mr Preval in the hope that he would bring back Mr Aristide?
When Mr Preval was president from 1996 to 2000, he acted as Mr Aristide's lieutenant, filling in for him because Mr Aristide could not be immediately re-elected.
He was duly replaced by Mr Aristide in 2001, after which there was a rapid breakdown of political stability.
But President Preval's four years in office were a period of relative calm, with some improvements in the Haitian economy, a more or less functioning parliament and efforts to revive local government.
Mr Preval kept out of the political violence of 2003-2004, and in the run-up to these elections has stressed that he is now his own man.
The problem he will have if he emerges triumphant from the second round is if those who voted for him press for an immediate return of Mr Aristide. They could make it impossible for him to govern effectively.
At the same time, if Mr Aristide does return, that would also make things difficult for a Preval government. The opposition would probably boycott parliament again, as it did in 2001-2004, and the political situation could once more quickly descend into chaos.
Another danger is that the opposition will choose to withdraw from the second round and from further voting for the 129 parliamentary seats also being contested.
Even before the first round, some opposition groups had threatened to pull out, claiming that a vote for Mr Preval was simply a vote for Mr Aristide.
If they now seek to undermine Mr Preval before the second round of voting, due in March, they could plunge Haiti back into the widespread violence that led to Mr Aristide's downfall in 2004.
More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4711846.stm
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$210.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network
Celso Amorim is said to have made the request during a phone call with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
At least one person has been killed and several injured in clashes in Haiti.
Supporters of front-runner Rene Preval have set up roadblocks in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and occupied a hotel, demanding he be declared the winner.
Witnesses said UN peacekeepers had opened fire on protesters, but the UN said its troops had fired in the air.
Mr Preval returned to Port-au-Prince on Monday as his share of the vote fell further, raising the prospect of a run-off, according to electoral officials.
With nearly 90% of the ballots counted, the former president has 48.7% of the vote - just short of the 50% required to win outright.
Mr Preval used to be an ally of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was forced out of power in 2004. He has inherited Mr Aristide's strong support among the poor.
Another ex-leader, Leslie Manigat, has 11.8%, while industrialist Charles Henri Baker has 7.9%, officials say.
Burning tyres
After making his request for a UN Security Council meeting, Mr Amorim described the situation in Haiti as worrying.
Mr Amorim, whose country heads a contingent of 9,500 UN troops in Haiti, said the international community needs to act with firmness and prudence.
More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4711354.stm
Front-running candidate Rene Preval flew to Haiti's chaotic capital from his rural home Monday as thousands of his supporters blockaded roads and stormed a luxury hotel, accusing electoral officials of manipulating vote counts to deprive him of a first-round victory.
Preval had just under 49 percent support -- just under the majority needed to give him victory outright and avoid a second round of voting -- with 90 percent of the votes counted. Leslie Manigat, another former president, was second 11.8 percent.
Manigat's wife, Myrlande Manigat, said he was not negotiating and was awaiting final results.
"Our position is to wait until the (electoral council) releases the results," she said.
More
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/02/14/haiti.ap/