Tuesday, March 29, 2011

And the winner of Haiti's presidential election…

…Will be unknown for a few more days longer than expected.

The preliminary results of the March 20th presidential runoff election between Michel Martelly and Mirlande Manigat were supposed to be announced on Thursday. Yet a problem with the vote count may be the reason why the announcement of the results will be delayed until next Monday.

According to the AP:
While not disclosing specifics, Gaillot Dorsinvil, the president of the Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council, issued a brief statement saying officials found a "high level" of fraud and irregularities of various kinds at the tabulation center in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Dorsinvil said the discovery has prompted lawyers to adopt "more stringent verification measures," causing a delay in counting. He did not describe the alleged problems.
International observers reportedly claimed that the runoff was free of the major allegations of fraud found in the first round of voting last November. Amid accusations that President Rene Preval interfered with November's election, ruling party candidate Jude Celestin withdrew despite originally being placed in second behind Manigat.

Image- France24 (“Haitian workers demolish part of the damaged Presidential Palace on March 19, in Port-au-Prince. The announcement of Haiti's provisional presidential election results has been delayed by four days and will now take place on Monday, the electoral commission said.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, The Guardian, Reuters, Monsters and Critics

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