Haiti gears up for elections amid reports of violence

Haitians queue for electoral identification cards the day before the country's presidential election on Sunday, November 28,

By Ivan Watson, CNN

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) — Candidates wound up a flurry of election campaigning before a midnight deadline Friday night amid reports of a violent attack on one of the candidates’ campaigns.

The campaign of flamboyant komba-singer-turned-presidential-candidate Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly issued a statement late Friday night, claiming he had survived an “assassination attempt” in the town of Aux Cayes in southern Haiti.

“Many wounded, at least one dead,” the campaign said in a press release.

Haitian police officials have not responded to phone calls from CNN. A spokesman for the United Nations told CNN he had yet to confirm initial reports about the possible attack.

Tensions have mounted in Haiti ahead of Sunday’s national elections, scheduled to be held within a year that saw a massive earthquake, a spreading cholera epidemic and recurring signs of government instability.

Nineteen candidates are running for the post of president. Seats are also up for grabs in the Senate and in the entire lower house of parliament.

Nearly all of the candidates have 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.

Haitian elections have been historically troubled by violence as well as allegations of fraud and intimidation.

Last Monday, clashes erupted between supporters of two rival candidates in another southern town, resulting in at least two deaths.

Haitian authorities are imposing a strict curfew on the movement of vehicles on election day.

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