#4302: US Demands Honest Haiti Vote Count (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From:nozier@tradewind.net

Monday June 19 6:29 PM ET  US Demands Honest Haiti Vote Count

 WASHINGTON (AP) - After another setback to Haiti's electoral process,
the State Department demanded Monday an honest count of ballots cast in
last month's disputed legislative and municipal elections.Spokesman
Richard Boucher said the United States wants the Haitian government
 and the country's electoral authorities to complete the vote count ``in
accordance with  the precepts of the Haitian constitution and the
electoral law.''  Boucher spoke after Haiti's top election official,
Leon Manus, fled Haiti for the United States out of fear for his life
after he refused to approve results of the elections. The State
Department spokesman said Manus, president of the Haitian Provisional
Electoral Council, entered the United States with his wife during the
weekend on valid U.S. visas. At issue is whether the party of former
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide will win an outright majority in
parliament and thus put Haiti on the road to becoming a virtual
one-party state.