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27172: Craig (news) UN hails rescheduling of Haiti elections (fwd)
From: Dan Craig
UN hails rescheduling of Haiti elections
www.chinaview.cn 2006-01-09 10:57:13
HAVANA, Jan. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Juan Gabriel Valdes, senior UN representative
in Haiti, on Sunday welcomed the setting of a new date for the country's
postponed presidential and parliamentary elections.
The lack of an election date had not only generated "electoral uncertainty"
but also sent an encouraging message to those who want to destabilize the
country and threaten the security of Haitian citizens, said Valdes.
The elections were originally slated for Jan. 8 but were postponed due to
what election officials said were security problems and inadequate
preparations.
According to the new schedule set in a presidential decree on Saturday, the
first round of the polls will be held on Feb. 7 and a runoff if needed on March
19.
A total of 34 candidates are running for the presidency, and about 1,300 for
130 seats in the parliament. The new president is due to take office on March
29.
The announcement of the new election date came after Brazilian Lt. Gen. Urano
Teixeira Da Matta Bacellar, commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti,
was found dead on the balcony of his hotel room on Saturday morning.
The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) said in a statement that the
general's death "will not weaken the resolve ofMINUSTAH and the international
community to ensure the will of theHaitian people prevails and Haiti joins the
democratic community of nations."
Valdes vowed on Sunday to crack down on gangs that have been ona kidnapping
spree and threaten the country's fifth attempt at scheduling elections.
"We are planning other attacks on kidnappers and we are going to resist this
process of destabilization," he said. "We are not going to allow any attempt to
derail the electoral process."
The voting aims to restore democracy to this Caribbean nation two years after
former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled the country in the face of a
popular rebellion.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/09/content_4027685.htm