Behind the Manipulation of Haiti's Election

After a number of delays, Haiti finally had its presidential and parliamentary elections on February 8. At first, things seemed hopeful, with the polling taking place peacefully. But then trouble started.

The leading candidate, Rene Preval, looked like he was on his way to securing a comfortable majority when things started getting murky. By February 14, with 90 percent of the votes counted, Preval had suddenly dropped in the vote count. His proportion of the vote currently stands at 48.7 percent, a tad short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

It is hard to say what exactly happened. But Preval’s abrupt drop off seems to be dubious, to say the least. And doubts about the vote are heightened by the fact that a member of the nine-person electoral council has come out and alleged fraud.

“According to me, there’s a certain level of manipulation,” Pierre Richard Duchemin told AP. “There is an effort to stop people from asking questions.”

Another official, Jean-Henoc Faroul, has also alleged deceit. “The electoral council is trying to do what it can to diminish the percentage of Preval so it goes to a second round,” Faroul, president of one electoral district, told AP.

Who would be behind the manipulation?

The suspicion falls on the interim government, headed by Gerard Latortue. Preval, a former head of state himself, is an ally of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Twice elected president, Aristide remains very popular among the Haitian poor. And while his own record was not without serious blemishes, the Bush Administration had no right to encourage his overthrow. The interim government hates Aristide with a passion, and has jailed a number of people from his regime, including the prime minister under him. (Aristide is in exile in South Africa.)

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http://progressive.org/mag_apb021406