U.S., EU criticize Haiti presidential elections rerun
By Jacqueline Charles
Haiti’s decision to rerun its disputed first-round presidential vote continued to ripple through the international community Wednesday as the European Union and the United States criticized the move, and the Organization of American States announced its continued support for the process.
All three donors had contributed to last year’s $100 million elections price tag and had praised the Oct. 25 presidential vote that pitted government-backed candidate Jovenel Moïse against Jude Célestin of the opposition.
“Despite a certain number of flaws and irregularities that were observed, they were not however of the nature to alter the results,” the EU’s Electoral Observer Mission said as it announced the closure of the mission while attacking the findings of the special verification commission.
The commission audited 25 percent of the roughly 13,000 tally sheets from polling stations, and found among problems, that there were 628,000 untraceable or “Zombie” votes.
The U.S. State Department said Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council’s decision to rerun the presidential vote means “that the electoral process is extended yet again with the president-elect unlikely to be installed before Feb. 7, 2017.”
“The Haitian people deserved to have their voices heard, not deferred,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, noting that the U.S. “regrets” the extension.
Deputy Spokesperson @Toner_Mark comments on the electoral process in #Haiti https://t.co/YIqjaZmdw6— Department of State (@StateDept) June 8, 2016
With $8 million left in a United Nations elections fund, it’s unclear how the EU and U.S.’s reactions will impact elections funding. OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro called on Haitians “to commit to the electoral calendar.”
“The OAS General Secretariat has been accompanying Haiti, a founding member of the Organization, during both electoral and verification processes that have taken place within the last year, and it will continue to play a positive role in the electoral process,” Almagro said.
The reactions come after Haiti’s main donors, which include the United States, earlier in the week reluctantly gave the go ahead to re-run the vote despite protests from former President Michel Martelly’s PHTK party and supporters.
On Wednesday as Haiti opened the process for the 54 presidential candidates to confirm their participation in the Oct. 9 rerun, Martelly’s supporters took to the streets calling for the departure of Jocelerme Privert ,whose term as interim president is set to expire on Tuesday. It remains unclear if Privert will get an extension or the boot by the parliament, which voted on Feb. 14 for him to lead a 120-day government to conclude the elections.
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COMMENT:HAITIAN-TRUTH.ORG
Sadly, the MIAMI HERALD’s handling of the ongoing Haitian situation is simply an extension of their biased approach to the situation.
There is a continual inference, to the effect that Martelly’s supporters are responsible for whatever violence may occur.
This is not true.
First fact: Jovenel Moise was first in the original ballot. Jude Celestin recognized his inability to win a well-supervised elections and – wishing to avoid humiliation – has refused to face Jovenel Moise in a carefully supervised, audited, well-structured ballot.
CELESTIN KNOWS HE MUST LOSE SO HOPES FOR ANOTHER BITE AT THE APPLE BY DESTROYING THE ELECTORAL PROCESS.
The Martelly/PHTK demonstrations have been peaceful, without any of the violence – omnipresent – in the street protests/riots of the Aristide/Preval sector.
The PHTK marches have never damaged, or destroyed property. They have never attacked businesses, individual or street merchants while the Aristide/Preval demonstrators sweep through areas like a plague of locusts, burning cars, pillaging business, and stealing what little merchandise the street sellers might have. Cell phones are also a popular target.
One of the basic factors, that puts the Aristide/Preval people on the street is the right to steal and burn, backed by a free meal, clairin and some cash.
These marched have no motivation, except criminal ones for self-gratification.
We have seen the MIAMI HERALD’s obvious backing of Jude Celestin’s candidacy, in spite of the fact that he is recognized – within the Haitian community – as a murderer and thieve of major Haitian assets. He is heavily involved in the Preval pillaging of Petrocaribe funds. Preval’s team managed to “disappear” $198,000,000 of these dollar accounts.
The October, 2015 elections were equally to many from the United States. The first commission report said they had found “few examples of fraud but did discover many cases of ineptitude.” Ineptitude because uneducated, semi-literate Haitians were placed in positions beyond their capability. But they tried to cope, and did their best.
Many of the so-called flawed documents were rejected simply because some poor Haitian had signed his name, then, realizing he had spelled it wrong, tried again.
VIOLATION!!!!
The so-called Commission of Verification, created illegally by Privert, had only one purpose. It was set to reject the vote, and it did. The commission members earned the millions paid by Privert as they doomed the Nation to another year of chaos.
What we fail to recognize is the death and disaster this has spread through the countryside as peasants face starvation because of the Privert crimes.
Privert’s Chimere have just attacked an area, in Haiti’s northwest, burning many buildings and displacing some 5,000 people.
Yesterday he had his Justice Minister distribute cash, weapons, ammunition and license plates for vehicles. The goal is an attack on Haitian society today, blaming the chaos on PHTK.
Same as the Privert coordinated attack on the PNH Caserne in Les Cayes, that saw several PNH officers killed. He blamed this on Guy Philippe, in an effort to neutralize this real threat to his proposed dictatorship.
He issued a bunch on Interdiction Notices against the previous CEP members and members of the Martelly/Lamothe government.
Privert is a frightening, dangerous psychopath. He should be in a hospital, or jail!
Privert is backed by the business community and drug dealers, because they fear a truly honest, coordinated government that might be presented by Jovenel Moise. He is beyond their control and wants to help his peasant brothers, a vast majority that has been ignored since the infliction of Democracy.
Jovenel Moise was the one chance for the Haitian People and groups like the MIAMI HERALD have denied a future for Haiti’s 10,000,000 majority.
In numbers, how many business people and drug dealers does the MIAMI HERALD support?
Privert has been completely honest.
He has stated that he will remain – illegally in power – to create a totally Lavalas government. He has already filled the government agencies with Lavalas people and has bribed many in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate.
Privert has shamelessly absorbed most of Haiti’s media into his government payroll, effectively controlling the press in Haiti. MIAMI HERALD ignores this obvious factor. “Ti Lili” the “Banana Lady” Liliane Pierre Paul has her husband Anthony Barbier as Privert’s Chief of Cabinet. Aristide gave “Ti Lili” her radio station.
He will create a dictatorship Democratically.
Remember, Adolf Hitler did the same in 1933.
PRIVERT’S MANDATE IS FOR 120 DAYS WHICH EXPIRED ON JUNE 14 ( AGREEMENT SIGNED BY PRIVERT HIMSELF ) . IN CASE OF NO POSSIBLE PROROGATION OF HIS MANDATE BY THE PARLIAMENT HE MUST RELINQUISH POWER . PRIVERT MUST GO !