NYT: Haiti to Stop Polling, Shut Schools to Secure Vote

[mountebank]

Ah, yes. Yet another story on Haiti featuring everything except what we'd all most like to know. 1) will the elections be monitored? 2) have there been recent polls? 3) who is expected to win? Media vacuums like these always seem to come before the major vote-rigging. And the media just drifts along...

Haiti to Stop Polling, Shut Schools to Secure Vote

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Reuters) - Haiti will stop campaigning and close schools and government offices before next week's presidential election, to help ensure security for the long-awaited poll, the country's interim authorities said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Gerard Latortue also said polling would be stopped and barred media from publishing any but ``official'' results, amid fears of violence surrounding the February 7 vote, Haiti's first since former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted by a rebellion in February 2004.

snip

Media were barred from publishing any results not deemed ''official'' by the government.

snip

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-haiti-election.html

[Freddie Stubbs]

1. I would be surprised if anyone except René Préval won

That seems to be the opinion of most of the Haitains I know here in Miami, even the ones who are supporting other candidates. That would be a pretty good outcome, considering that things went well under his tenure.

[applegrove]

2. Actually - not polling probably helps more people vote.