#5135: Re: #5130: Fair elections: CEP president lashes opposition a reply

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Jean Paul <jpp@compa.net>

Some mistakes on this read. First of all the 20 million is what the US spent
on the may elections, no money was ever obligated for the Presidentials.
Secondly, of the 20 million only 7 million went directly for the
organisation of the elections. The rest went to help political parties, NDI,
IFES, OAS observer mission.

Also, if one analyses this election in comparison with the 1995 ones, they
came off much better, much fewer allegations of fraud, etc. The 1995
elections were hailed by almost everyone (except IRI and the Carter Centre
Delegation (of which I was a member) as very good. It seems that the
controversy over the vote count for senators overflowed into much more than
should have.  It is one problem and should be delat as such. As for voter
turnout and results, my network of Port au Prince people told me that 7 out
of 10 had voted for Lavalas. This is the same group of maybe 80-90
individuals who gave me Aristide a winner in the first round by over 60 % of
the vote in 1990, three weeks before the election. At the time, my findings
had been seen as heresy.

Jean Paul Poirier