By Moni Basu, CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) — International officials have asked Haitian President Rene Preval to delay the announcement of final election results which were due to be out Monday.
Jode Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the Organization for American States said the delay would allow an OAS team of technical experts to help with the verification of preliminary results.
Preval had asked the OAS for assistance with verification on Wednesday.
The OAS has been involved with high-level meetings in Haiti with the top vote-getters as well as Haitian electoral and civil society organizations.
Protests, sometimes violent, erupted after the Provisional Electoral Council announced preliminary results that put former first lady Mirlande Manigat in a runoff with Jude Celestin, the candidate backed by the increasingly unpopular Preval.
Popular musician Michel Martelly came in behind Celestin and was thus ineligible to participate in a January 16 runoff.
Martelly told CNN he believed he had won and accused the electoral council of manipulating votes in order to boost the government-backed candidate.
His supporters took to the streets chanting his name and demanding that the government respect the will of the people.
The electoral chaos adds to the instability in Haiti, which has already suffered a massive earthquake, a hurricane and a cholera outbreak this year.
OAS Assistant Secretary General Ambassador Albert Ramdin visited Haiti earlier in the week and said an urgent solution was needed to stave off further unrest.
He said the Haitian electoral council must give OAS experts unfettered access so that they can make independent assessments of the balloting.
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COMMENT: HAITIAN-TRUTH.ORG
Counting existing ballots of no use. An example will show how stupid this entire issue is.
I have just reached into my jean’s pocket, before tossing them into the laundry, and found a dozen coins. These jeans had been worn, off and on, over a 4 day period.
How can I say when the coins were dropped into my pocket, or if they were placed there at one moment?
So it is with trying to give any credibility to counting whatever votes exist.
No one can say if these were all that were placed in the ballot boxes…or if they are the ones that were placed in the ballot boxes. No one can say these were the ballots delivered to the counting centers….
In other words, there might be a pile of ballots, in the Tabulation Center, but their validity cannot be guaranteed by anyone.
There is no “chain of evidence” tying them together along the route from voter to tabulation center.
Preval must step down…
Cancel the elections.
Form a new CEP.
Spend the time, staff effort and cash required to actually hold a valid vote – for the first time in Haiti’s history.
I personally think a person living in Oregon has no idea of what goes on in Haiti and needs to keep his mouth out of it. Just because you have ventured here in the past with some religious groups does not make you an expert. Living with missionaries that live like kings in a poor country does not make you an expert. The people that voted for Jude were afraid to say so in public for fear Sweet Micky’s followers may harm them. Anyone with any common sense knows that a musician that pulls his pants down on stage is not fit to be a president of the Woman’s Club much less a country
@Don Melton-From the site founder, Michael Collins. (not admin)
I agree that people who aren’t here should keep their noses out of things and their mouths shut. One would hope that someone who had spent time would be more conversant with the present Haitian reality.
Cite Soleir, Martissant and Bel Aire. I was in these places yesterday and the people there were quite open in their dislike for Celestin and Manigat. They liked Martelly because he dropped his pants and gave the finger to the International Community. Since you seem to be in Haiti, you should know these things and acceopt the fact that Martelly has become a phenomena and could win a vote if it was held tomorrow: FRIGHTENING!!!
And, please don’t suggest I ever supported Martelly in anyway, other than buying a couple of his CDs years ago..
I was in Petit Goave and Leogane, the day before, and Cap Haitien last week. The people there were, or could have been for Baker had he not come out against the minimum wage concept. It was an impossible idea but he should have remained silent.
None of these ventures were with missionary groups and I do not live as a king, although – if you have ever actually been to Haiti – you probably lived on a much higher scale than I did over the past couple of months while I did what I could to help people suffering with cholera. Until you have experienced death, on this scale, you should shut up. Although, since I see that you were a security guard, that leaves you pretty well on the peasant level but you have the advantage – I assume – of reading.
I was here for the January 12 quake, and have been here ever since. Unless you were here to assist in that disaster when people like me – without any formal training in the subject, other than what the military gave me…set broken arms and legs – because there was no one else…shut up!
Unless you have assisted with the rescue of badly injured people, from beneath the rubble – shut up.
Unless you attended the memorial service beside a pit containing over 50,0000 dead – shut up.
Michel Martelly, as a president, would be an insult to Haiti. I say this as someone who has known Martelly for 17 years. Have you ever met the man?
Jude Celestin is known for many things in Haiti. Unless you were/are here to read about these things in the local media, or listen to the local radio stations’ news broadcasts – shut up. He was also very low on a Zogby poll that was carried out some time ago. Celestin’s people were responsible for much of the violence blamed on Martelly. I was present when a INITE gunman executed two people in downtown Port-au-Prince. I can still hear the teenager’s please immediately before a 9mm round blew his brains out.
Manigat is also an embarrassment who sold out to Preval and has since tried to explain and apologize about this. I have known the Manigats since 1987. Have you ever met them? I doubt it!
Since you seem to be in Haiti, or are you looking for a job from the States, you should be better informed.
Come to Haiti and smell the roses.
Collins
I wonder how much million did Preval give to insulsa.or how deep is he involve in the genocide plan they have for the haitian population.
what a te billions they r desperate to share?
I recognize your name Melton. Do you still do the plantation in Haiti, or is that gone now?
Anyone with common sense will never vote for Preval or anyone from his party. They did not do a good job when they were in power. The country is now worse then before. Nobody will vote for them again, unless somebody pay them to vote, so It’s impossible for Jude to be second. The true winner from the election is Henry Cean because he is sopported by the lavalas party which is the majority of the Haitian people and Baker should be second. Martelly, Manigat, or Jude Celestin are not the top Candidate.