#4523: CANA on Haiti's Elections and Participation in CARIFESTA VII (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

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

The Caribbean News Agency (CANA) is the premier
provider of news and information
from the English Caribbean

CARICOM's democracy challenge in Haiti

Canouan, St. Vincent, CANA - The Prime Minister of St.
Lucia, Dr. Kenny Anthony, said yesterday the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) had an obligation to help Haiti
"as a member of our family" to build and sustain the
democratic tradition that has evolved over a long period
in this region.

The central issue for the press briefing was outcries in
and out of Haiti of the flawed vote-counting procedures
in the allocation of seats for the parliament and
municipalities on the basis of the May 21 elections.

The CARICOM leaders have been engaged in
intensive discussions with Preval to arrive at a
decision that would not compromise the integrity of the
expressed will of Haitian voters and also consistent with
the multi-party democratic practice of free and fair
elections to which the Community remains committed,
Anthony said.


CARIFESTA VII plans moving apace

Basseterre, St Kitts, CANA - Preparations for
CARIFESTA VII - the seventh Caribbean Festival of Arts -
are moving apace, a government minister said here Tuesday.

But the authorities are still awaiting word from Haiti
and the Dominican Republic, two countries that have
just had general elections, about whether they would
participate in the regional cultural extravaganza.

"We are not saying that they are not going to participate
but both countries are in the process of working out some
matters that I believe, once they are resolved, will decide
what the size of the contingent will be," Culture Minister
Jacinth Henry-Martin told CANA.