Charges of vote-count manipulation hit Haiti poll

[mom cat]

Charges of vote-count manipulation hit Haiti poll
12 Feb 2006 21:05:39 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Joseph Guyler Delva

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Haitians awaited the final results of their first election since Jean-Bertrand Aristide was driven from power amid growing concern that the vote tabulation, which has taken more than four days, was being manipulated.

Former president Rene Preval, who leads the first round of voting by a wide margin, complained that there was a "problem" with the counting of votes, and two members of the nine-member council that oversees elections said there was "manipulation" at the tabulation center in the capital.

Preval, an Aristide protege who worries the wealthy elite who helped oust Aristide in February 2004, held 49.1 percent of the votes counted so far, according to results posted on Sunday morning on the Provisional Electoral Council's (CEP) Web site.

Preval needs 50 percent to avoid a March 19 run-off against the second-place candidate, currently ex-president Leslie Manigat at 11.7 percent.

more at:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N12187838.htm
This is what I have been fearing.

[cal04]

1. Preval's comment "I went to school and the CEP has given two figures

Jacques Bernard, the director general, said on Sunday that Preval had just under 49 percent. Figures on the Web site late Sunday had Preval at 49.1. But a graphic on the Web site generated by computer had Preval at 52 percent, above the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

"I went to school and the CEP has given two figures, 52 percent and 49 percent. Now there is a problem," said Preval, talking to reporters while sitting on a bench in the village square in his mountain hometown of Marmelade. "Forty-nine percent I don't pass. Fifty percent I pass." Pierre Richard Duchemin and Patrick Fequiere, two of the nine members of the elections council, said the vote tabulation was being manipulated and blamed Bernard.

"The percent which is given by the graphic is done by the computer according to figures entered by a data operator and the computer can't lie," said Duchemin, who was in charge of the voting tabulation centre. He said he had been excluded from viewing data. "There is an unwholesome manipulation of the data. Nothing is transparent," he said.

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=6462783&cKey=1139779229000

[mom cat]

2. Thanks for the update and take a look at this:

It comes from a rather bad editorial, but look at what they are saying:

On Saturday, the official tally gave him 49.6 percent of the votes, with 72 percent of the stations counted. But foreign electoral officials said an independent survey showed Préval received 54 percent of the vote, although the survey has yet to be adjusted for blank ballots, which could reduce each candidate's percentage points slightly.
http://www.progressiveindependent.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=12492&mesg_id=12492

Now just how many "blank ballots do you think that there could be? How many people do you think stood in line, sometimes in lines over a mile long, just to get to the front of the line and not mark their ballots? If even one person did it I would be shocked. This has to be fraudulant.

[patdem]

3. If they try to oust Preval...It will not be good...even if he gets 49%

the next closest is 12%...I cannot see Preval NOT winning...of course there is always DIEBOLD type of counting?

[mom cat]

4. Look at this: over 72,000 BLANK BALLOTS! I can't even imagine one!

"Adding to the controversy was the issue of 72,000 blank ballots, on which no vote was cast. Even though they contained no vote, they were being added to vote totals used to calculate each candidate's percentage. The net effect was to lower each candidate's percentage, dropping Preval 50 percent.

A spokesman for the election council said blank votes had not been counted in past elections."

I am supposed to believe that 72,000 people stood in lines over a mile long, waited for hours to vote and then did not vote!


:grr:

[Darranar]

13. I can see why they would.

The people of Haiti have suffered under immense state terrorism and repression, and a few years ago lost their democratically-elected president to a gang of thugs and murderers.

Now, because the occupation did everything it could to erode any grass-roots movements, the best candidate on the table is someone who was an IMF stooge while in power, even though he is likely preferable to the alternatives.

[1932]

6. A run off will give opposition time to invent dirt and engage in intrigue.

Even if the best performing fascist is at 12%, there's still a huge incentive to cheat Preval out of a first round victory.

[mom cat]

5. Breaking: Haitians March in Support of Preval

Haitians March in Support of Preval

By ANDREW SELSKY
The Associated Press
Sunday, February 12, 2006; 6:01 PM

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Supporters of Rene Preval thronged outside Haiti's electoral commission Sunday, chanting and singing as a slow vote count indicated the presidential favorite was just shy of the 50 percent he needs to avoid a runoff.

Thousands of protesters, many wearing Preval T-shirts and blowing horns, marched peacefully from the seaside slum of Cite Soleil and other areas to the office of the electoral commission, where about two dozen Haitian police clad in camouflage and carrying shotguns stood guard.

Some demonstrators accused the electoral council of manipulating the count and threatened violence if their candidate was not declared the first-round winner. Election officials deny any wrongdoing.

"If they take the election from Preval, it's not going to go smoothly," said Robert Antoine, a 23-year-old from the Bel-Air slum. "The people voted massively for Preval, and it seems the electoral commission is playing games with the results."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/12/AR2006021200590.html

[mom cat]

7. More on the march:

Crowds demand Preval be named Haiti president
Sun Feb 12, 2006 7:18 PM ET


By Joseph Guyler Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Reuters) - Shouting "Preval is president," thousands of protesters marched in the Haitian capital on Sunday demanding election results five days after the troubled Caribbean nation's first vote since Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted two years ago.

The large demonstrations came as concerns grew that the election results, which showed former president Preval romping ahead of his rivals in the first round but just short of a majority needed to avoid a runoff, were being manipulated.

Preval, a former Aristide ally opposed by the wealthy elite in the poor Caribbean nation, complained there was a "problem" with the counting, and two members of a nine-member council that oversees elections decried "manipulation" of the count.

The electoral council had said final results would be made public on Sunday but they had not been released by early evening, as thousands rallied outside the hilltop hotel where the tally was to be announced.

Preval supporters filled a 10-block stretch of one of the teeming capital's main streets from sidewalk to sidewalk, singing and waving tree branches and chanting, "We voted already, Preval is president, We're not going to vote again!"

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-02-13T001752Z_01_N12187838_RTRUKOC_0_US-HAITI-ELECTION.xml&archived=False

[mom cat]

8. Haiti poll marred by ballot fraud protests (and another related vote fraud

article)
Haiti poll marred by ballot fraud protests

February 13 2006 at 12:32PM

By Stevenson Jacobs

Port-au-Prince - Accusations of ballot mishandling and street protests have erupted nearly a week after Haitians voted to restore democratic governance to the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Two members of Haiti's electoral council on Sunday questioned vote counting procedures, while throngs of supporters of leading presidential candidate Rene Preval poured into the streets, chanting angry allegations of fraud.

Preval, a former president widely supported by Haiti's poor masses, was falling short by less than a percentage point of winning February 7 elections outright without a runoff, with 75 percent of votes counted.

'There's a certain level of manipulation'

Electoral council member Pierre Richard Duchemin said he was being denied his rightful access to information about the tabulation process and called for an investigation.

"According to me, there's a certain level of manipulation," Duchemin told The Associated Press, adding that "there is an effort to stop people from asking questions."

MORE AT:

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=122&art_id=qw1139814361796R131


AND THIS STORY:

Results in Haiti point to likely runoff
BY LETTA TAYLER
STAFF CORRESPONDENT


PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- In results that critics slammed as fraudulent, René Préval, a former president and champion of the poor who is the front-runner in key presidential elections here, appeared last night to have lost the majority he needs to avoid a runoff with his closest rival.

Thousands of enraged, slum-dwelling Préval supporters took to the streets of this capital city to blow horns and bang drums in protest as they shouted, "Préval on the first round!" Two members of the provisional electoral council overseeing the count from Tuesday's vote said they believed the results were being manipulated.

"From the beginning, Jacques Bernard was not interested in a first-round victory," renegade council member Patrick Fequière told Haitian television, referring to the council's director general. Earlier yesterday, Fequière said he believed Préval had received more than 50 percent of the vote.

Pierre Richard Duchemin, another electoral council member, told reporters he thought some other council members had "manipulated" the tally and called for an independent investigation.

A few days ago Préval, 63, was leading with nearly two-thirds of ballots in early returns, raising expectations of a first-round victory. The voting had been hailed as a landmark step toward planting democracy in the hemisphere's poorest and most troubled nation.

The electoral council abruptly postponed a news conference at a posh hotel to announce a final tally last night after protesters amassed outside. Rumors swirled that Bernard would say Préval had 49 percent of the vote, the same lead he'd shown with three-fourths of ballots counted yesterday morning.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-whait0213,0,3751860.story?coll=ny-top-headlines

[mom cat]

9. Monday morning:Preval likely to face runoff in Haiti election

Preval likely to face runoff in Haiti election
13 Feb 2006 12:59:56 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Jim Loney and Joseph Guyler Delva

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.

Smoke from burning tires rose over the teeming capital from impromptu barricades, the United Nations said, as suspicions spread among protesting Preval supporters that the count was being manipulated to stop the one-time ally of ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide from winning a first-round victory.

Like Aristide, Preval is viewed as a champion of the impoverished Caribbean country's poor masses, but he is distrusted by the small and wealthy elite.

With 89.9 percent of ballots counted, Preval's share of the vote in last Tuesday's largely peaceful but chaotic election had slipped to 48.7 percent by Monday morning, the Provisional Electoral Council said on its Web site.

When initial results were announced several days ago, Preval held 61 percent of the vote, comfortably over the 50 percent plus one vote needed to avoid a runoff on March 19.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N13223690.htm

[mom cat]

10. Election fraud accusation in Haiti

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Election fraud accusation in Haiti
Outraged voters threaten violence as Preval's lead shrinks
Ginger Thompson, New York Times

Monday, February 13, 2006

Port-au-Prince, Haiti -- The calm that followed national elections in Haiti was replaced by tension on Sunday, and confidence in the process started to weaken, as leaders of this country's fractious political parties expressed frustration with the delay in releasing final results.

Community leaders in the country's slums, seeing the share of votes won by their presidential candidate starting to slip, accused electoral authorities of fraud. On Sunday, a member of Haiti's electoral council said election results were being manipulated.

"According to me, there's a certain level of manipulation," Pierre Richard Duchemin, an electoral council member, said, adding that "there is an effort to stop people from asking questions" about the counting process.

Duchemin said Sunday he needed access to tallies of vote counts in hopes of learning who was behind the alleged manipulation. He called for an investigation.

With more than 75 percent of the vote counted by Sunday afternoon, the lead held by Rene Preval, considered the favorite of this country's impoverished masses, had dropped to 49.1 percent. A finish of less than 50 percent would force Preval into a runoff next month.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/02/13/MNG0OH7GE61.DTL

[mom cat]

11. Peacekeepers Fire on Haiti Protesters

Peacekeepers Fire on Haiti Protesters
U.N. Peacekeepers Fire on Haiti Election Protesters, Hotel Stormed As Fiery Roadblocks Cripple Port-Au-Prince


Hundreds of supporters of Haitian presidential front-runner Rene Preval run down Delmas road to join more protesters in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Feb. 13, 2006. Preval supporters erected roadblocks to demand he be declared the winner of Haiti's presidential elections as results showed his lead slipping further below the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff, in the midst of accusations of vote count fraud. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Bird Flu Detected in Italy and Greece
Kidnappers Threaten to Kill Hostages
U.S. and Cuba Theatrical Shouting Match Rages
By STEVENSON JACOBS

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Feb 13, 2006 (AP)— U.N. peacekeepers opened fire Monday on Haitians protesting election results, killing at least one and wounding four, witnesses said as flaming roadblocks paralyzed the capital.

Hundreds of screaming demonstrators elsewhere stormed into an upscale hotel housing an electoral office in the hills above Port-au-Prince and helicopters landed on the roof to evacuate guests.

Associated Press journalists saw the body of a man in the street in the Tabarre neighborhood, a T-shirt bearing the image of leading candidate Rene Preval soaked in blood. Witnesses said Jordanian U.N. peacekeepers opened fire on them, killing two and wounding four. The body of the second victim was not at the scene.

Protesters have alleged the electoral commission is manipulating the vote count to prevent leading candidate and Preval, a one-time protege of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, from winning a first-round victory in this battered and poor Caribbean nation.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1613079

[mtnester]

12. Welcome to Ohio...oh wait

sorry

[Judi Lynn]

14. Right on schedule, it appears Preval is below 50% now.

Preval falls further below 50 pct in Haiti vote count
Mon Feb 13, 2006 7:25 AM ET

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (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.
(snip/)

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-02-13T122457Z_01_N13223034_RTRUKOC_0_US-HAITI-ELECTION-RESULTS.xml&archived=False

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update 8: Preval Slipping in Haiti Vote Count
By STEVENSON JACOBS , 02.13.2006, 09:22 AM

Supporters of presidential front-runner Rene Preval mounted roadblocks Monday to demand their candidate be declared the winner of Haiti's elections as results showed the former president slipping further below the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff.
(snip)

Accusations of ballot mishandling and street protests erupted nearly a week after Haitians voted to restore democratic government to this impoverished Caribbean nation. Some demonstrators threatened violence if Preval isn't declared the winner, chanting: "No Preval, no peace!"

Two members of Haiti's electoral council on Sunday questioned vote counting procedures, while throngs of supporters of leading presidential candidate Rene Preval poured into the streets, chanting angry allegations of fraud.

Electoral council member Pierre Richard Duchemin said he was being denied his rightful access to information about the tabulation process and called for an investigation.

"According to me, there's a certain level of manipulation," Duchemin told The Associated Press, adding that "there is an effort to stop people from asking questions."
(snip/...)

http://www.forbes.com/business/commerce/feeds/ap/2006/02/13/ap2521117.html