Fraud claims delay Haiti vote outcome

PORT-AU-PRINCE – Eight days after the international community hailed Haiti’s election, the painfully slow vote count was bogged down yesterday by claims of fraud, protests and delays.

And Haitians will likely have to wait a little longer for the outcome to be announced, after a commission was formed to probe former president Rene Preval’s claims of “massive fraud or gross errors.” Preval rejected results based on 90 per cent of the voting stations that gave him 48,76 per cent of the vote, which leaves him short of the majority he needs to win outright in the first round despite a massive lead over his 31 rivals.The presidency indicated the final outcome of the February 7 election would not be announced until completion of the probe to be conducted by Preval’s party and electoral authorities with the government acting as referee.Speaking after the UN Security council as well as the US and French government urged Haitians to respect the outcome, the frontrunner said he had explained his position to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan over the telephone.”We are convinced that we will win in the first round,” said Preval, 63, who was president from 1996 to 2001 and who enjoys strong support among the millions of impoverished Haitians.Local media reported that several ballot boxes were found in a garbage dump outside Port-au-Prince.Television showed pictures of angry Haitians holding up ballots and complaining of fraud.Preval encouraged his supporters to continue demonstrating their rejection of the partial results, but urged them to do so peacefully and within the law.Comparatively small groups of demonstrators took to the streets on Tuesday, in sharp contrast with massive protests the previous three days.On Monday, Preval supporters had taken over the streets of the capital, blocking roads with car wrecks, rocks and flaming tires, and storming the gates of a luxury hotel.A protester was shot dead on Monday following an incident involving members of the 9,500-strong UN Stabilisation Force in Haiti (MINUSTAH).A UN spokesman said the death occurred after the departure of the troops, who he said had fired warning shots in the air.Groups of demonstrators marched again on Tuesday, but the city was generally calm, with many Haitians opting to stay home, and stores remaining shuttered.American Airlines cancelled its daily flights to Miami for the second day running, and Air Canada’s weekly flight to Haiti was also cancelled.Former South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who spent four days in Haiti where he preached reconciliation, was airlifted to the neighbouring Dominican Republic in a military helicopter.Massive protests two years ago turned into a popular uprising that forced Jean Bertrand Aristide, Haiti’s last elected president, to flee.Preval is a former ally of Aristide, in whose government he served as prime minister in 1991.But his aides said the two were no longer in contact.Should Preval fail to win outright, he would face off in March with second-placed Leslie Manigat, 75, also a former president.Manigat scored 11,8 per cent of the vote.- Nampa-AFPPreval rejected results based on 90 per cent of the voting stations that gave him 48,76 per cent of the vote, which leaves him short of the majority he needs to win outright in the first round despite a massive lead over his 31 rivals.The presidency indicated the final outcome of the February 7 election would not be announced until completion of the probe to be conducted by Preval’s party and electoral authorities with the government acting as referee.Speaking after the UN Security council as well as the US and French government urged Haitians to respect the outcome, the frontrunner said he had explained his position to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan over the telephone.”We are convinced that we will win in the first round,” said Preval, 63, who was president from 1996 to 2001 and who enjoys strong support among the millions of impoverished Haitians.Local media reported that several ballot boxes were found in a garbage dump outside Port-au-Prince.Television showed pictures of angry Haitians holding up ballots and complaining of fraud.Preval encouraged his supporters to continue demonstrating their rejection of the partial results, but urged them to do so peacefully and within the law.Comparatively small groups of demonstrators took to the streets on Tuesday, in sharp contrast with massive protests the previous three days.On Monday, Preval supporters had taken over the streets of the capital, blocking roads with car wrecks, rocks and flaming tires, and storming the gates of a luxury hotel.A protester was shot dead on Monday following an incident involving members of the 9,500-strong UN Stabilisation Force in Haiti (MINUSTAH).A UN spokesman said the death occurred after the departure of the troops, who he said had fired warning shots in the air.Groups of demonstrators marched again on Tuesday, but the city was generally calm, with many Haitians opting to stay home, and stores remaining shuttered.American Airlines cancelled its daily flights to Miami for the second day running, and Air Canada’s weekly flight to Haiti was also cancelled.Former South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who spent four days in Haiti where he preached reconciliation, was airlifted to the neighbouring Dominican Republic in a military helicopter.Massive protests two years ago turned into a popular uprising that forced Jean Bertrand Aristide, Haiti’s last elected president, to flee.Preval is a former ally of Aristide, in whose government he served as prime minister in 1991.But his aides said the two were no longer in contact.Should Preval fail to win outright, he would face off in March with second-placed Leslie Manigat, 75, also a former president.Manigat scored 11,8 per cent of the vote.- Nampa-AFP