PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – Hundreds of protesters, including some presidential candidates, took to the streets on Sunday demanding the annulment of Haiti’s presidential and legislative council elections.
The demonstrators clashed with riot police who fired tear gas when the demonstrators tried to break through a barrier blocking access to the area in front of the white presidential palace.
Jean-Henry Ceant, one of the presidential contenders repudiating the election process, condemned what he called the “electoral masquerade” and said the protests would continue “as long as necessary” until the process was annulled.
“We are here to protest. We want the elections annulled. There were no elections on the 28th,” said Charles Baker, one of the presidential candidates denouncing the poll.
The demonstration was the second in three days as the country awaits the outcome of the November 28 elections. The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) has promised that the preliminary results should be known today.
The protest remained peaceful and shouted “Arrest Preval”, the outgoing President whom they have accused of trying to steal the elections along with his party’s candidate Jude Celestin, and electoral authorities.
Celestin, former First Lady Mirlande Manigat and popular musician Michel Martelly, are seen as the leading contenders in the race with two of them likely to go forward in a run-off early next year.
Manigat and Martelly had originally joined other candidates in denouncing the polls calling for them to be declared null and void.. But they backed down and said they wanted the vote to be counted, saying they expected to be the election leaders.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has already called on all stakeholders to respect the law and shun violence, warning that unrest will only hinder the ongoing fight against the unchecked cholera epidemic which has killed at least 2,000 people.
The joint Organisation of American States – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) team that monitored the elections has acknowledged instances of violence and voter intimidation, but said the problems were not widespread enough to invalidate the election. (CMC)
