27705: (news) Chamberlain: Preval falls further below 50 pct in Haiti vote count (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

    PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Former Haitian President Rene
Preval fell further below the 50 percent he needs to win outright as the
counting of ballots continued on Monday in an increasing tense presidential
election.
    With 89.9 percent of ballots counted, the one-time ally of ousted
president Jean-Bertrand Aristide had 48.7 percent of the vote, compared to
the 61 percent he was given a few days ago after initial results from
Tuesday's election were posted, the Provisional Electoral Council said on
its Web site.
     He will face another ex-president, Leslie Manigat, who had 11.84
percent percent, in a runoff election on March 19.