Troubled Haiti wins praise for calm election

[Bacchus39]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hA8iKy13_SPhangCF_JMISoVXFuQ?docId=CNG.261b2d3c66888006d3d84c66c4b96323.11f1


PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haiti won plaudits for holding a calm and relatively peaceful presidential run-off on Monday as partial results suggested carnival singer Michel Martelly could emerge the victor.

The United Nations, which deploys thousands of peacekeepers in the notoriously troubled Caribbean nation, where more than 220,000 people were killed in a January 2010 earthquake, offered particularly strong praise.

Now, the "primary task would be to oversee the reconstruction of the country after the tremendous tragedies that have befallen it in the past year," said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

There had been fears Sunday's run-off, delayed for months by bickering over a violence-plagued first round in November, would be overshadowed by the return from exile of charismatic ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

[EFerrari]

1. At a 17% turnout, what were they worried about?

The election was obviously fake and was treated as a fake by the public.

[Bacchus39]

2. was that yesterday's turnout?? post your info

I notice the CEPR link you posted is doing their best to try to undermine the elections.

[EFerrari]

3. LOL. Yes, big bad CEPR undermining the fake Haitian election.

Is that even possible? They'd have to start out very low to do that.

Kim Ives, reporter at Haiti Liberte

@kimives13 Kim Ives
Random sampling of vote tallies @ 4 "busy" PAP voting stations shows voter participation @ 17.7%, w/ 74% for Martelly #Haiti.
20 hours ago via web

http://twitter.com/#!/kimives13/status/49623623169875968

[Bacchus39]

4. thanks, looks like Martelly will win

yes, CEPR has done nothing but report on supposed irregularities.

here is their latest entry which actually criticizes Martelly for telling his supporters to go vote

4:35 PM: In Allyn Gaestel's latest piece, she notes, almost as an aside that "On Sunday crowds swarmed the voting center where Martelly voted, and he enjoyed one last chance to clamber atop a truck and dance and wave to his followers. He mouthed, "Go vote!" to his supporters, as they waved pink cards and placards." As was pointed out previously, according to electoral law, "all public manifestations in favor of one or several candidates, one or several political parties, grouping or regroupings are formally banned on Election Day and until the proclamation of the results." It would seem worth mentioning that when reporting on the election.



it should be noted for the DU community, CEPR was pushing for the cancellation of the election.

[EFerrari]

5. You bet. This farce of an election should have been abandoned

weeks ago.

And of course, Martelly was breaking the law.

[Bacchus39]

6. CEPR should arrest him n/t

s

[Bacchus39]

7. I believe abandoning the election would be against the law

lol