During a meeting of the Electoral Council, half of the members indicated that there were instances of fraud in the latest presidential election. Last week Mirlande Manigat and Michel Martelly were confirmed for the second round run off on March 20th.
In declarations to Telesur, the Secretary General of the Haitian Provisional Electoral Council, Leonel Raphael, noted that four out of eight members of the entity refuse to sign off the results of the first round.
However, he said that under Haiti’s election law it is not necessary that all the members of the Council sign the election results.”
Raphael indicated that the situation not to sign is motivated by the particular political interests of the Council members themselves.
Last week, the entity informed that the candidates could participate in the runoff elections. Mirlande Manigat of the opposition gained the highest percentage of votes, followed by singer Michel Martelly.
Twelve of the candidates who participated in the election reported the alleged fraud.
Concerning these declarations, Raphael stated that “it is a political issue and each politician seeks to play his part in the game.”
He denied that the allegations will affect the runoff vote.
Raphael claimed that most of the population recognises the need for the process to continue in order to replace incumbent, President Rene Preval.
Haiti Elections: Run Offs Only Part of the Solution by Stanley Lucas: http://solutionshaiti.blogspot.com/2011/02/haiti-elections-run-offs-only-part-of.html