PORT AU PRINCE- Hundreds of protesters demanding the annulment of Haiti’s elections marched in the capital for the second time today, clashing with riot police and stoking tensions ahead of results expected on Tuesday.
The Western Hemisphere’s poorest state, which was devastated by a January earthquake and is battling a deadly cholera epidemic that kills dozens each day, is on edge a week after holding presidential and legislative polls.
The international community had hoped the November 28 vote would deliver a stable, legitimate government, but that goal looks threatened following voting problems on the day of the ballot, widespread fraud allegations and simmering unrest.
At the end of today’s march by more than 1,500 protesters in Port-au-Prince, Haitian riot police fired tear gas to disperse them when they tried to break through a barrier blocking access to the area in front of the white presidential palace, which was badly wrecked in the January 12 earthquake.
Demonstrators and bystanders scattered as stinging gas clouds wafted through the tent and tarpaulin shelters of a large crowded camp of thousands of homeless earthquake survivors located in front of the crumbling palace. (Reuters)
