|
Haitians await results of elections
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-08 21:01
Election workers counted ballots into the night as
Haitians anxiously awaited the results of presidential elections that officials
hailed as a success despite delays that caused many polls to open late.
Haitian electoral workers count ballots by candlelight during
a regular blackout in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti,
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006. Haitians voted in overwhelming numbers in an
election aimed at restoring democracy in this impoverished nation,
swamping electoral officials who struggled to cope with the large turnout
making them to extend the voting period by several hours. [AP]
|
A massive turnout all but overwhelmed electoral officials, who said early
results would not be available until late Wednesday. Many Haitians voted by
candlelight Tuesday night after spending hours in lines stretching up to a mile
at some polling stations.
Many stations opened late, lacking the necessary workers, security and
ballots to handle the crush of voters who turned out by foot, car and brightly
colored buses.
Outside the gang-controlled Cite Soleil slum, frustrated voters pounded on
empty ballot boxes and chanted, "It's time for Cite Soleil to vote!" In one
rural town, a Haitian policeman shot and killed a man in line at a polling
station; a mob then killed the officer, a U.N. spokesman said.
But officials called the election a step toward democracy in the destitute
Caribbean country, saying the heavy turnout showed Haitians felt safe despite
warnings that chronic violence would keep voters away. At least four deaths were
reported, but authorities said the balloting was largely free of violence.
Jose Miguel Insulza, head of the Organization of American States, said "a
large majority of the Haitian population voted," although no specific numbers
were available.
"We will have a democratic government ... that this country has fought so
long and hard to have," Insulza told reporters.
Acting U.S. Ambassador Timothy Carney applauded Haitians for stepping up to
determine their future.
"Today was a triumph for the Haitian people," he said. "It was a ragged
start. The Haitian people turned out in force, clearly believing security was in
place. They made it work. They waited in line patiently."
The elections, held under the watch of a 9,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping
force, were deemed vital to averting a political and economic meltdown in the
Western Hemisphere's poorest nation. Rene Preval, a 63-year-old agronomist who
led Haiti from 1996-2001, was the front-runner among 33 presidential candidates.
If no candidate wins a majority, the top two vote-getters will face off in a
March 19 runoff. Full results were expected later in the week.
By nightfall Tuesday, hundreds of people were still lined up at a polling
station near Cite Soleil, waiting for a chance to cast their ballots.
Among them was Rene Valmay, a 25-year-old voting in his first election. He
arrived to vote at 6 a.m. but left when his polling station had failed to open
more than three hours after the election's official start.
"It was crazy but I had to come back and vote," Valmay said as fellow voters
scribbled on ballots under the flicker of candles. "Hopefully, tomorrow I'll
wake up and there will be a change in Haiti."
Voters clutching new electoral ID cards jostled and shouted for ballots. Some
fainted and were carried away.
"People were yelling and screaming to get inside the voting booths," said
Mona Joseph, 21, one of the last people to vote. She had to go to several
different polling centers in the capital of Port-au-Prince before finding her
name on the voter registry.
Election officials extended voting by several hours to ensure those who
wanted to vote could. The election has been postponed four times since October.
The stakes were huge — more than simply who will lead the country and who
will occupy seats in parliament. Haiti, which has seen only one president
complete his term in office, could implode if the elections go wrong, experts
say.
In the aftermath of a February 2004 rebellion that toppled President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, gangs have gone on a kidnapping spree and the country's
few factories are closing because of security problems and a lack of foreign
investment.
U.S. officials have warned that a collapse could trigger another wave of
Haitians migrating aboard boats to the United States. That occurred in 1994,
prompting Washington to send troops to Haiti to restore Aristide to power, three
years after he fell to a military coup.
In the northern town of Gros Morne, a Haitian policeman shot and killed a man
in line at a polling station, Wimhurst said. A mob then killed the police
officer, he said. There were two other reported deaths in polling stations in
the capital — two elderly men who collapsed while waiting in line.
Preval — who has the backing of many supporters of Aristide — said if he
wins, Haitians must recognize their country is in dire straits and should not
set their expectations too high.
"We will not be able to do everything right away," he said. "But we are
determined to do our best and raise the standard of living for the people of
Haiti."
Other top contenders were Charles Henri Baker, 50, whose family runs
factories that assemble clothing for export, and Leslie Manigat, 75, who was
president for five months in 1988 until the army ousted him.
|
