Wyclef Jean steps toward Haitian presidential race

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – Grammy-award winning  singer Wyclef Jean said yesterday that he has taken legal  steps toward running for president in quake-devastated Haiti,  but has not made a definite decision to run.

Jean, who said he is qualified to run for Haiti’s highest  office, was in Haiti to work with lawyers and have his  fingerprints taken by the judicial police as part of the legal  process of preparing to run for president.

“I basically come out to Haiti today because it was  important that I do my fingerprints,” Jean told Reuters as he  left the Port-au-Prince international airport for the United  States on Thursday.

“There are a lot of rumors that I am running for president.  I have not declared that,” said Jean, 37. “If we decide to move  forward, I am pretty sure that we have all our paperwork  straight.”

Haiti, which was ravaged on Jan. 12 by a deadly  7.0-magnitude earthquake, is scheduled to vote on Nov. 28 to  elect a new leader to replace President Rene Preval, whose term  ends in February.

The deadline for candidates to register is Aug. 7. Jean  said he will take his decision with his wife Claudinette and  their daughter Angelina.

“As a family, we must decide on what we’re going to do  because it is a big sacrifice,” he said.

Sources close to the singer told Reuters Jean will  officially announce his candidacy next week on CNN before  flying back to Haiti to enter the race. When asked by Reuters  about such plans, Jean did not confirm or deny the  preparations. Many analysts predict Jean — who is very popular among  Haitians, particularly the young — would easily win the  presidential election if his candidacy were approved.

Jean immigrated to the United States at the age of 9, but  has maintained his Haitian citizenship, a prerequisite for  running. He showed his Haitian passport to Reuters reporters as  he was going through Haitian immigration on Thursday. News of his possible candidacy has created panic among  traditional politicians and power holders who have long planned  to run. They fear Jean’s popularity and financial resources  would give him a campaign advantage they could not hope to  match.

“I think if Wyclef is allowed to run he will have a  straight victory,” said political leader and former  presidential candidate Himmler Rebu.

A three-time Grammy award-winner, Jean was a founding  member of the hip-hop trio The Fugees and won wider fame for  his collaboration with Colombian pop star Shakira. He released  a song two years ago called “If I Was President.”

Jean established the Yele Haiti Foundation in 2005 to  provide humanitarian aid to the people of Haiti. He said after  the Jan. 12 earthquake that killed up to 300,000 people that  Haiti’s future rested on education, job creation and  investment.