Musician Wyclef Jean’s plans to run for the Haitian presidency were abruptly halted on Friday.The Caribbean country’s provisional electoral council decided that Jean did not meet the constitutional requirements to be a candidate in November’s elections. The board did not specify why he along with fourteen other potential candidates was barred from running. Yet it had been rumored that Jean failed to meet the residency requirement of living five years in Haiti. (His counterargument was that he was exempt from the clause since he was appointed as “a roving ambassador” in 2007).
Jean’s run for the presidency faced opposition from several celebs including cousin and former Fugees comrade Pras who gave his support for another musician-turned candidate, Michel Martelly. It was unknown how much he would appeal to domestic Haitians, especially by running on “a diaspora agenda” designed to appeal to expats living in the U.S. Despite his lack of political experience Jean touted another type of know-how in a recent interview with CBS News:
"I have no qualifications for president; I have qualifications for a leader," he replied. "The reason why I even entertain this idea is education, job creation, agriculture, bringing security into the country" . . . a country infamous for its repressive government.The Haitian electoral board did permit nineteen potential candidates to run for the presidency.
The winner of the November 28th elections faces many challenges that have been compounded by last January’s major earthquake.
Image- The Globe and Mail (“Musician Wyclef Jean attends Hope Help & Relief Haiti "A Night Of Humanity" at Urban Zen on February 8, 2010 in New York City.”)
Online Sources- MSNBC, BBC News, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, CBS News, CNN, Los Angeles Times
1 comment:
28 August 2010 -> 13:45 hour
Mr. Wyclef Jean, it appears that you have good intentions about Haiti.
You might be able to improve the image of Haiti.
To do so, it is important that you prepare yourself for the task.
You need to put your house in order by upgrading your education.
Right now you are no match intellectually for those presidential candidates of November 2010.
The C.E.P. has done you a favor by using the residency requirement as a face saving rejection for you.
If you sincerely want to become President of Haiti, I will not advise you to go back to school in the U.S. to get a credential without an education.
I strongly suggest that you find a team of Haitian professors or mentors that like you to teach you those following subjects: Creole, French, Spanish, Literature, Logic, Argument and Debate, Speech, Math, Science, Social Science, Statistics, Politics, Diplomacy, Economics, Finance,Management and Home Economics If you attend class with them eight hours a day for six days a week, you will need at least ten consecutive years to learn those basics skills.
Sincerely
Le Rossignol D'Haiti
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