23368: Esser: High-Tech Sham is Underway in Haiti's Elections (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser <torx@joimail.com>

CounterPunch
http://www.counterpunch.org

October 2 / 3, 2004

A High-Tech Sham is Underway
Haiti's Elections
By LUCSON PIERRE-CHARLES

The ouster of Jean-Bertrand Aristide was orchestrated by and for the
ruling minority. For two hundred years, they have ruled the country
by proxy and have undoubtedly some responsibility to bear for the
current state of affairs in the country. However, following
Aristide's forced departure, they have decided to change course. They
have established a puppet regime of technocrats with the aim of
smoothing the progress of a total minority rule and according to
latest indications, they are right on target. The technocrats have
turned the country upside down. They have transformed the nation into
an open theater with farcical promises, farcical disarmament,
farcical trials and upcoming farcical elections.

In an attempt to boost its technocratic profile, the U.S.-backed
administration--assuming it survives the present chaos--plans to hold
digitized elections next year in order to seal a victory for a few.
According to a Reuters report released in early August, "Haiti's
plans to hold high-tech and costly elections in 2005 are at risk
unless international donors rapidly provide promised funds, a senior
election official said. Five months after president Jean-Bertrand
Aristide was ousted in an armed revolt, Haiti's electoral council
needs $100 million to organize what will be the most expensive ballot
in Haiti's 200 years of independence, council member Rosemond Pradel
said."

The nine-member electoral council (CEP) was created without the
participation of the Lavalas party, which decided to boycott it
following waves of arrests and persecutions of Aristide loyalists. As
the report further indicated, such situation "has undermined
confidence in the panel, and especially in the government's plans for
a computerized voting system that some analysts fear could be
manipulated to prevent Aristide's supporters among the poor majority
from determining the outcome. Preparations for the election have been
torn by infighting, and the electoral council faces the further
challenge of trying to organize high-tech voting with digitized
identity cards and electronic voting machines in a country that
barely has electricity."

In an effort to appease critics of the plan, council chairwoman
Roselaure Julien made a public statement last week in which she
announced that an agreement was reached between the CEP and the
political parties to forgo the electronic voting machines and retain
the digitized ID cards instead. It is only in this status quo that
one can envision digital ID cards without digital machines. Her
statement, which failed to address the prospect of influencing the
outcomes of the election, comes months after a power struggle to
control the electoral body was made public. The infighting was so
heated that both Boniface and Latortue had to intervene in order to
keep the actual makeup of the institution. The clash was intended to
bring down Julien and replace her with the actual representative of
the private sector, which in turn wanted to have complete control
over the high-tech aspect of the upcoming elections. Julien "accused
her colleagues of a plot to hijack the electoral process and
denounced a fierce power struggle among those who helped oust
Aristide and said she had come under pressure to resign because she
had resisted attempts to influence her. I won't kneel down, said
Julien, I say there should be a free and fair election, not
selection, nomination or plebiscite." In such a context, one must
assume that the fight to control the CEP will not go away given that
the private sector has no way of capturing the presidency except
through electronic ballot.

A report released by the Associated Press in late August revealed
that "Haiti has signed an agreement with the United Nations and the
Organization of American States to organize elections next year and
already has US$9 million in U.S. aid available to help cover the
costs. The U.S. aid will be spent on training elections personnel,
creating a new voter registration system and setting up an electronic
voting system." This is why, despite Julien's statement on the
rejection of computerized voting machines, American and Venezuelan
experts are on the ground conducting demonstrations on the
significance and benefits of electronic voting.

Last July, international donors pledged over $1 billion to help
rebuild Haiti. The technocrats hope to use part of that money to
organize a computerized election where the winners will be
pre-selected. Upon receiving the donors' pledge, Latortue promised to
double electricity service to 12 hours in Port-au-Prince. So where
will his administration find enough energy resources to run a
high-tech voting system across the country? Through some technocratic
means perhaps. Besides the electricity dilemma, other challenges must
also be addressed. In a country where close to 80% of the population
are illiterate and basic infrastructures are nearly nonexistent, the
idea to run a computerized election is beyond human comprehension.
Despite all the uncertainties associated with electronic voting
machines--a system terribly unreliable and not accountable--Haiti
would be the last place in this region to hold high-tech elections.

In a further attempt to secure the elections, the private sector has
launched a new political party, Parti Libéral Haitien (Haitian
Liberal Party). The party will run on a conservative platform with
the aim of boosting the private sector and promoting a liberal
economy, they claimed. To the surprise of the Haitian political
class, the announcement was made in Norway during a forum organized
and hosted by the Norwegian government for various segments of the
Haitian civil society in late August. In the lead-up to the coup
against Aristide, the leader of the Group 184, Andy Apaid Jr.,
promised his allies that he would never transform his movement into a
political party. But things have changed lately and the machine has
been set in motion. They have the party and the means; the only
missing factor is the ballot. They are in no way capable of
collecting the necessary votes except through electronic voting,
which is also one tangible way to deter people from voting and
suppress the majority. Even if voters were to show up to the polling
stations, the technocrats are well aware of the challenges that
people will face in trying to use the computerized machines. They
will probably rely on high-tech poll workers to "assist" the voters.
They are not concerned about huge voter turnout; they only need the
elections to be held as planned.

Since Aristide's forced departure, the vast majority of Haitians have
been marginalized and left with no credible figures to represent
their interests. The technocrats have used all tactics in their
effort to repress all dissent, to persecute former Lavalas officials
and incarcerate them in order to silence the poor majority. In the
name of the majority, they are working actively to facilitate a
transition that will plunge the endangered nation further into
despair. Their ultimate fate lies in their disregard of the country's
200 years history.

Lucson Pierre-Charles, a native of Haiti, now lives in Maryland. He
can be reached at: lpierrecharles@yahoo.com