Haiti’s government declares elections success; candidates allege fraud

From Ivan Watson, CNN
November 29, 2010 6:12 a.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* 12 of the 18 candidates running for president allege widespread fraud at the polls
* The national police reported one death related to election activities
* Voters struggle to overcome aftereffects of the January quake and cholera epidemic

Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) — Haitian officials declared the country’s national elections a success — just hours after two-thirds of the candidates in the presidential race called for an annulment of the vote due to irregularities.

Pierre Opont, the director of Haiti’s main electoral body, told reporters Sunday night that the election had “successfully concluded.”

But he noted that 56 of the country’s 1,500 polling centers had reported “incidents,” and that the national police reported one death related to the election activities.

Hours before his announcement, two-thirds of the candidates — including one of the front-runners — denounced Sunday’s national elections and called for a complete annulment of the vote due to irregularities and ballot-box stuffing.

“I am asking my country’s citizens, I am asking the Conseil Electoral Provisoire, the government, and I’m telling the international community that as the leading candidate I’m asking for the formal cancellation of the elections,” lead candidate Mirlande Manigat told CNN.

Her campaign manager, Wimine St. Pierre, said that Manigat “is asking to void the election across the entire territory of the country because of irregularities and the ballot boxes were already stuffed with votes for Jude Celestin,” the hand-picked candidate of outgoing President Rene Preval.

Manigat, along with 11 other of the 18 presidential candidates, gathered at a hotel in Port-au-Prince for what contender Michel Martelly said was an event “to denounce today’s massive fraud all over the country.”

In a joint communique, the candidates called for the elections to be annulled, raising a serious challenge to the credibility of Haiti’s vote.

And they made an appeal to the Haitian people that could lead to trouble in the hours and days to come.

“We ask the people to mobilize right now to show their opposition to the election,” candidate Josette Bijoux said to the raucous crowd.

“We need a new Haiti without fraud,” he added.

Before taking the stage to issue the communique with his fellow presidential contenders, candidate Leslie Voltaire told CNN that the election was “just like the cholera,” referring to the epidemic spreading across the country.

Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy in Haiti urged people to stay calm.

“We join partners throughout the international community, and call on all Haitians to remain calm. And urge all political parties to ensure that their supporters conduct themselves peacefully,” said U.S. embassy spokesman Jon Piechowski. “We are following events very closely.”

Polls closed Sunday evening, as voters struggling to overcome January’s massive earthquake and a spreading cholera epidemic cast their ballots for president and other lawmakers.

Earlier in the day, Haitians lined up at polling centers inside temporary shelters that are being used as classrooms 10 months after January’s 7.0-magnitude earthquake destroyed many of the city’s schools.

Voters had three ballots to fill out: a green one for president, and blue and brown ballots to elect lawmakers to the Senate and parliament. At three polling stations in the capital, CNN journalists witnessed large numbers of voters complaining that they were unable to vote because their names were missing from voter rolls.

“I voted here in 2006. My name is not on the voter list. I can’t vote now. This has been done intentionally by the electoral board,” one person, Delcius Jean, told CNN.

Lamise Elmidor, the supervisor at one of the stations, said Haiti’s main electoral body, the Conseil Electoral Provisoire (CEP), changed the rules in this year’s election. Unlike past years, voters cannot cast their ballots, if their names are not found on the voting lists.

Meanwhile, the rubble-strewn streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, were eerily quiet as Haitian authorities imposed strict measures to ensure security after past votes were plagued with violence and allegations of fraud.

Only drivers with special passes from the CEP were allowed to operate cars or motorcycles Sunday anywhere on Haiti’s roadways, according to CEP spokesman Richardson Dumel.

Businesses are also banned from selling alcohol, he said, and gun licenses have been temporarily suspended until Monday.

Haiti, which has endured near constant health and environmental crises, is facing a growing cholera epidemic affecting nearly 70,000 people that many feared could further scare voters from the polls.

Tensions rose ahead of the elections, in which 18 candidates were running for the post of president. Seats were also up for grabs in the Senate and in the lower house of parliament.

Nearly all of the candidates campaigned on similar platforms — fighting corruption, creating jobs, and addressing a series of natural disasters that has left the Caribbean nation reeling and prompted many to urge for a postponement of Sunday’s vote.

According to electoral law, a candidate must win 50 percent of the vote or else the election goes to a second-round runoff — a possibility in such a crowded field of contenders.

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1 thought on “Haiti’s government declares elections success; candidates allege fraud

  1. How much more lawlessness do the Haitian people have to endure. The electoral process has been like a circus.

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