PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) has declared Sunday’s presidential and legislative council elections a success even as some of the presidential candidates called for them to be declared null and void and thousands of people took to the street claiming that they were prevented from casting their ballots.
“The election of November 28 was successful even in the most terrible circumstances,” said the CEP president Gaillot Dorsinvil, acknowledging that “we can’t say that during the elections there weren’t some irregularities, but we will investigate them”.
The CEP reported that 56 of the 1,500 polling stations were forced to close early due to violence and other problems.
On Sunday, in an unprecedented show of solidarity, 12 of the 19 presidential candidates, including front runner Mirlande Manigat, called for the polls to be declared null and void. They said they wanted the CEP to scrap the poll due to widespread irregularities.
“This is an earthquake of an election,” said Leslie Voltaire, one of the candidates. “This will divide the country, not unite it,” he added.
On Sunday night, thousands of persons protested through the streets of the Haitian capital burning down polling stations denouncing outgoing President Rene Preval and Celestin.
The disgruntled candidates said that the alleged ballot tampering was orchestrated to favour Jude Celistin of the ruling Inite party. But while Celestin did not join the public outcry of election tampering, ironically he was among those who had difficulty voting on Sunday.
Electoral officials at a school in Petionville, said the photo on his identification card did not match what was on the voters’ list. Celestin was later allowed to cast his ballot.
Jean-Louis Opont, CEP director general told reporters said that while the 12 presidential candidates may have voiced their concern, none had made any formal complaint with specific charges to CEP.
Opont also said it was only the presidential candidates who complained and none of the representatives or candidates for the Senate have made allegations against the voting process.
The international community that had invested millions of dollars and sent hundreds of people to help the government plan and run the election reacted with caution to the fraud accusations and the CEP’s response.
A spokesman for the United States Embassy, which spent US$14 million in election preparation, said only that it was monitoring the situation, while representatives of the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which have a joint team of observers in Haiti .issued a statement saying it was gathering information for “our assessment of polling day activities.”
The United Nations, which had given logistical and security help, said that it had “deep concerns over the numerous incidents that marred the election.”
It said any deterioration in security could have “dramatic consequences” on the response to the cholera epidemic Haiti has struggled with for a month and has resulted in the death of more than 1,400 people.
Preliminary results are not expected to be released until December 7. (CMC)
