#2038: SICRAD on the Electoral Situation (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: Max Blanchet <MaxBlanchet@worldnet.att.net>

>From SICRAD/CIP

Voter registration snagged in many localities
SICRAD reports
------------------------------------------------------------

A degree of tension exists in various regions impeding
voter registration which was supposed to start on
January 24 in four thousand  registration centers
around the country.

The most serious incidents were in Petit-Goave where
unidentified individuals burnt the local electoral office
(Bureau Électoral Communal [BEC]). Cameras, films
and many other items were lost in the flames.

Montigene Sincere, mayoral candidate in Petit-Goave
for the National Salvation Movement (Mouvement pour
le Sauvetage National, MPSN), a Duvalierist tendency,
was blamed by officials of the BEC. The candidate
rejected the accusations.

In nearby Grand-Goave there is tension after the
Provisional Electoral Council replaced two members of the
BEC, one of whom is brother of Evans Paul, mayoral
candidate for the Concertation ticket (l'Espace de
Concertation).

The situation is still blocked in the Grand'Anse.
Registration has not begun in Anse d'Hainaut where the
material has not been delivered. The BEC is always
closed and the visit of a CEP delegation is still awaited.
The delegation would find a solution to the conflict that
persists in this region.

The government and CEP appear to be passing the
buck on this question. Prime Minister Jacques Édouard
Alexis and justice minister Camille Leblanc say the CEP
should take care of it, while CEP president Léon
Manus says that the justice ministry and police should
restore order and allow the BEC to function.

Another Grand' Anse commune, Beaumont, is also
perturbed. Members of the IRAK organization claiming
affiliation with the Lavalas Family party burnt electoral
material of the BEC on January 22. Lavalas Family
spokesman Yvon Neptune expressed his disapproval
of these actions and said his party was not involved
in acts of violence.

The Artibonite had various problems related to the
choice of members of the registration offices (Bureaux
d'Inscriptions et de Vote, BIV). Registration was
supposed to begin there on January 24, the CEP said.

In the north the CEP is saying nothing about the BEC
in Borgne whose membership has been contested for
several weeks.

However, registration is proceeding as planned in the
Southeast, Northwest and part of the West departments,
according to the electoral council, which holds to the
March 19 date for the legislative, municipal
and local elections.

Threat of resignation within the CEP


The president of the civic-education commission of the
CEP, M. Emmanuel Charles, threatened on January 19 to
resign because he said he did not have effective control
of the commission. According to slogans on the
walls and radio spot advertisements Emmanuel Charles
has a hidden agenda in this commission.

One of the principal organizations working with the CEP
in every aspect of the elections is the International
Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). The U.S.
government channels its aid for printing of voters'
cards through IFES.

Campaign

The principal political parties have launched their
campaigns, which observers find to be hesitant. Radio
stations have put on special broadcasts so
candidates can address the public.

The peasant observation organization called "Komite
Zafè Elektoral Peyizan pou Eleksyon Pwop" (KOZEPEP)
gathered several thousand peasants on January 22 in
Mirebalais. The organization, close to the government,
sought to encourage the peasants to vote in the elections.
------------------------------------------------------------------------




HAÏTI-CORRESPONDANCE serie 2 / No 47 / 24 janvier 2000 E-bdo d actualite
haitienne et de perspective democratique et populaire