27512: Craig (news) Haiti votes in landmark elections (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dan Craig


Haiti votes in landmark elections

Last Updated: Tuesday, 7 February 2006, 11:56 GMT

The people of Haiti have begun voting in the country's first elections since 
former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in February 2004.

UN troops will watch over the election process, which has been delayed several 
times because of widespread unrest.

The US and UN have urged Haitians to vote, saying the election offers the 
poverty-stricken country a chance to escape from chronic instability.

Voters are picking a new president as well as a 129-member parliament.

The front-runners are an ally of Mr Aristide, Rene Preval, and a businessman, 
Charles Henry Baker.

The country has been run by an interim administration since 2004.

'Away from violence'

Some of Haiti's 3.5 million registered voters live some way from a polling 
station and have been urged by radio broadcasts to "wake up early and walk".

The roads and transport are so poor in some areas that ballot slips and boxes 
have been delivered by helicopters - and in some areas by mules.

Polls opened at 0600 (1100 GMT) and are scheduled to close at 1600 (2100 GMT). 
Official results are expected on Friday.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan sent a message to Haitians ahead of Tuesday's 
poll, saying: "These elections offer an opportunity for your country to move 
away from violence and uncertainty towards a future of peace and stability."

But the BBC's Claire Marshall in Haiti says there are fears that the voting 
could be chaotic, and UN officials acknowledge they will probably be in Haiti 
for years to come.

Despite the presence of peacekeepers, the country has continued to be blighted 
by political and criminal violence and instability.

Aristide loyalists

Former President Preval, 63, is a long-time ally of Mr Aristide who is popular 
with the poor.

Mr Baker and former President Leslie Manigat are considered his closest rivals.

If none achieves a majority first time round, the two best-placed candidates 
will compete in a run-off.

In Bel-Air, a slum of the capital Port-au-Prince, our correspondent found many 
people hoping that Mr Preval would win and prove to be loyal to their memory of 
Mr Aristide.

"Aristide and Preval, they are twins," said one man.

Mr Aristide was first elected in 1990, but within the year he was overthrown, 
and replaced by a succession of military governments.

The US, backed by the UN, intervened in 1994 to restore order.

In the elections that followed Mr Aristide was barred from standing, but Mr 
Preval, his close ally, took nearly 90% of the vote.

Mr Aristide later returned to power, but with allegations of corruption and 
vote-rigging accompanied by increasing instability and violence, he took a US 
flight in early 2004 to South Africa, where he remains in exile.

Mr Preval told the BBC that Mr Aristide may return if he wishes, but that he 
will not tolerate the violent groups that pledge him allegiance.

Wealthier Haitians have expressed disquiet at the possibility of a president 
with echoes of Mr Aristide.

"The majority of the business sector has serious concerns about the idea of a 
new presidency by Preval, considering his past ties to Aristide," said Reginald 
Boulos, who heads Haiti's Chamber of Commerce.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/4687856.stm
© BBC MMVI