By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Nov. 22, 2016: Haitians finally voted Sunday but are still awaiting the results from the elections. Here are five facts you should know about the long overdue elections:
1: Who Won Haiti’s Elections?
That answer is still up in the air as a count of Sunday’s long overdue elections continued Monday amidst tensions which spilled into the streets with shots fired outside the Presidential Palace, Reuters reports indicate. The ballot tabulation is expected to take a week as the results are being counted by hand. The Electoral Council says candidates should accept the official results and avoid premature announcements.
“The electoral decree does not allow anyone except the Electoral Council to publish results,” Haiti’s Electoral Council president Leopold Berlanger said. “We ask that the decree be respected. Whether it is the political parties, the candidates, or other organizations in society, no matter what the sector– we want them to respect the decree.”
The comment comes as less than 24 hours after some candidates and their supporters claimed they had won, leading to chaotic scenes in the capital where guards were forced to shoot into the air to clear a celebrating crowd.
2: How Many Candidates Ran?
Twenty-seven candidates ran for office. Exit polls suggests Jovenel Moise, 47, had an early lead, although the supporters of Maryse Narcisse said their candidate was ahead. Moise enjoys the backing of former President Martelly and belongs to his Parti Haitien Tet Kale (Haitian Bald Head Party). A banana exporter, Moise won the first round of presidential election held in October 2015 but following allegations of fraud, those elections were annulled. Narcisse, a doctor, has the backing of Haiti’s first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and is one of two women running for the top office. To win outright, a candidate needs to secure more than 50 percent of the votes. Failing that a January 29, 2017 run-off will be likely. Whoever wins the election will face the challenge of reconstructing a country which has been ravaged by natural disasters.
3: What Are Observers Saying About The Election?
So far the Organization of American States, which has an observer mission on the ground in Haiti, has commended the efforts of all national stakeholders that led to an improved electoral process, noting greater national involvement and ownership of the process. The Mission is continuing to observing the tabulation process and will have continuous presence at the Tabulation Center (CTV) until the publication of the preliminary results. In addition, the OAS said it will observe the contestation phase.
4: Why Was There Need For Another Election?
The election was delayed for more than a year after the results of the October 2015 vote were thrown out following allegations of widespread fraud. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday stressed that the new election process “is crucial to ending the current governance vacuum” and urged all the parties involved “to show statesmanship at this critical time for the country.”
5: Who Is Running Haiti Now?
Since February 14, 2016, the country is being run by a caretaker government. Jocelerme Privert was elected by the Haitian National Assembly as the island nation’s interim President, one week after former President Michel Martelly departed without a successor. Privert was supposed to serve as interim President for 120 days, and an election had been scheduled for April 24th, following an agreement – known as the February 5th Agreement – between Haitian stakeholders to preserve institutional continuity and further the electoral process. But that did not happen and Privert is still holding the reins until this election results are announced.
