#4814: Aristide Party Wins in Haiti (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From:nozier@tradewind.net

Tuesday August 8 9:07 PM ET  Aristide Party Wins in Haiti 
 By MICHAEL NORTON, Associated Press Writer 

  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - The electoral council announced the     
results Tuesday from the final run-offs in Haiti's drawn-out elections,
confirming that the party of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide won
 dominant control of the legislature.The results came from run-off
elections held July 30 for 10 lower-house seats in districts where
balloting had been delayed. Aristide's Lavalas Family party won five of
the seats, according to the election council. Opposition candidates took
four while the determination of the final seat was postponed because of
irregularities.  The latest results mean the Lavalas party now holds 75
of the 83 seats of the lower Chamber of Deputies. The party won 18 of
the 19 seats that were up for grabs in the 27-member Senate, the upper 
house. The first round of voting was held May 21 and June 11, followed
by run-offs on July 9 and July 30. Parliament has not been in session
since January 1999, when Aristide's handpicked successor President  Rene
Preval shut it down to terminate a prolonged power struggle with the
majority party. Aristide, constitutionally barred from consecutive terms
in office, stepped down in 1996 and is a favorite to win a re-election
bid in November. Aristide's party also has won 80 percent of city halls
and a majority of urban and rural assemblies. The Organization of
American States observer team has questioned the formula used to
determine winners of the parliamentary elections, and the United States,
Canada and European Union have threatened to withhold aid if the results
are not revised.