#4065: OAS/MOE on the Elections (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

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

>From the Center for International Policy
_________________________________________

OAS Electoral Mission in Haiti
Mission d'observation électorale de l'OEA en Haïti
Port-au-Prince, le 31 mai 2000


Mr. Léon Manus
Président
Conseil Electoral Provisoire

Monsieur le Président,

I have the honor to communicate to you the observations
of the Electoral Observation Mission of the OAS
concerning the calculation of the vote in the legislative
elections.

A review of the results announced by the CEP and
in particular the percentages stated for the leading
senate candidates shows a serious error affecting the
number of parliamentary races won in the first round.
This error came to light in the course of our mission's
verification of the percentage calculations.


The electoral law clearly establishes in Articles 53 and
64 that to be elected to parliament in the first round you
have to get an absolute majority of the total valid votes.
Following the procedures contained in these articles we
have analyzed the data of the CEP and arrived at the
following conclusion.

The numbers distributed by the electoral-operations
office indicate that it did not follow the procedures
established in these articles but that it decided to add
up only the votes of a small number of candidates who
obtained the most votes. As a result, the operations
office got the wrong percentages. Our own analysis
indicates that the political party Fanmi Lavalas is leading
in all departments but that in many of them
there will have to be a runoff election.

As you will understand, Mr. President, this is a serious
error which if not corrected can place in doubt the validity
of the whole electoral process. We are simultaneously
communicating this information to the president of
the republic.

Confident that the CEP will quickly correct this situation
in strict conformity with the provisions of the electoral law
I present my compliments.


R. Orlando Marville

Ambassador, chief of mission