United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today called on Haiti’s leaders to adopt an internationally backed solution to an elections dispute that threatens stability in the earthquake-ravaged country.
Clinton arrived in Port-au-Prince for talks with outgoing Haitian President Rene Preval and leading presidential candidates.
She said she was delivering the message that Washington wants to see Haitian authorities enact recommendations by Organization of American States (OAS) experts, which revise disputed preliminary results from chaotic elections held on November 28.
OAS experts, citing widespread irregularities in voting tallies from November 28, have recommended that presidential candidate and popular musician Michel Martelly be included in a second-round runoff vote in March in place of government-backed candidate Jude Celestin.
Opposition matriarch Mirlande Manigat is already confirmed through to the runoff.
Despite the OAS report and international pressure, Celestin, a government technocrat and protege of outgoing Haitian President Rene Preval, has not formally backed down or withdrawn from the race despite urging from his own INITE coalition to do so.
Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council has said it will announce on Wednesday the definitive results from the confused elections, but has not yet given a clear indication that it will follow the OAS recommendations. (CMC)
