24126: Severe (reply): RE: 24050: Election costs, etc... (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Constantin Severe <csevere@hotmail.com>

Like Kathleen I've wondered why the upcoming elections are so expensive. Has
anyone seen an itemized expense sheet from the CEP or the Haitian
government? One reason for the expense could be that each election cycle is
treated as a tabla rasa with the electoral commission having to start all
over again. Maybe it's the labor intensive nature of Haitian elections. In
the 1995 elections there were 3,000,000 registered voters, 10,000 polling
places, and 40,000 poll workers. If one compares the 2000 US elections with
the Haitian elections of the same year the Haitian elections where much more
expensive per voter. The US spent about $2 a voter while in Haiti it was $10
to $15 a voter, with a large chunk going to administrative costs.

I think another part of it is that someone else is picking up the tab. The
last time Haiti picked up most of the costs in an election where in 1990
when Haiti paid about 60%, in 1995 it was 5%, for this current election the
Haitian gov't says it'll chip in $3.5 million for an election that is going
to cost between $50-56 million. There is something corossive about having
foreigners pay for something that is supposed to be a key moment in Haiti's
future. Ya, ya Haiti's a poor country, if Latortue can drop $52 million to
pay arrears on debt only to borrow $73 million more, he can find money for
an election.

Slightly related. Does Haiti really need MINUSTAH to clean its streets.
Seriously I love Brazil, Reynaldo, and thongs as much as anybody else but
does Haiti need an Armored Sanitation Department. If Haiti can't manage to
do that without help, maybe we should just have a going out of Business
sale. I'll put in the first bid for Jacmel.