Haitian election campaign begins amid uncertainty

by Clarens Renois

Monday, October 10, 2005

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP): A political campaign ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections has formally gotten underway in Haiti amid doubts that the vote set for next month will take place as scheduled. 

The official electoral calendar calls for the first round of the vote to be held on November 20.

However, many local politicians have expressed doubt the national election council charged with organizing the balloting will be able to overcome what they call "major technical problems" in time for the vote. 

With organizers falling behind schedule in practically every aspect of preparatory work, council president Max Mathurin indicated Friday that the calendar could be adjusted. 

Some UN officials and other diplomats have mentioned the possibility of postponing the first round until December, but no formal announcement to that effect has been made. 

The uncertainly has prompted some political parties to unleash a torrent of criticism of the council, which has led the government to create a support group behind the council. 

A total of 34 candidates, including one woman, will be contesting the presidential post on November 20, if the vote is held on time. More than 1,300 candidates are running for the 120-seat legislature. 

Many of them formally began campaigning on Saturday. 

If no one wins a majority in the first round, a runoff vote pitting the two top vote-getters will take place on January 3. Meanwhile, local elections are set for December 11. 

Activists took to the streets of the Haitian capital as well as the country's second-largest city, Cap-Haitien, Saturday to rally for their preferred candidate. 

Supporters of Samir Mourra, one of the presidential candidates who has been under attack for keeping his US citizenship, took to the streets of Petion-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, to the strains of popular music. 

Dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with a portrait of their candidate, Mourra supporters, mainly people from poor neighborhoods, crisscrossed the capital followed by a convoy of cars. 

"We are the children of former president Aristide who have been adopted by Samir Mourra," said one young activist, sweat streaming down his face after walking for hours in sweltering heat. "We want to gain the presidency." 

Jean Bertrand Aristide fled the country in February 2004 in the face of an armed rebellion. Since then, a UN force of about 7,000 troops and police have struggled to maintain law and order as the interim government looked forward to elections as a way to return the country to stability. 

Another activist who identified himself as Gilles was complaining to his party boss that he has not received any money for his work in support of the candidate. 

"If they paid me, I could have voted several times," he said. "But how can I return home without making any money." 

Despite continuing violence the UN force has made it clear it will do all that is necessary to maintain order during the vote. 

"The UN forces will use every means necessary to make sure voting takes place in a stable and secure environment," UN force commander General Urano Teixeira Bacellar of Brazil said Thursday. 

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