Haitians pick president in generally peaceful vote

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – Haitians voted in  large numbers yesterday to elect a president for their  earthquake-scarred country, choosing between a singer and a  former first lady in a generally peaceful run-off.

A Haitian man casts his presidential ballot during elections in Port-au-Prince yesterday. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

Haiti’s top electoral officer, Gaillot Dorsinvil, hailed  what he called the large turnout of voters in the first  presidential run-off vote in the Caribbean nation, where  elections have often been marred by fraud and violence.

The close race presented Haiti’s 4.7 million voters with a  choice between a political newcomer, energetic entertainer and  singer Michel Martelly, 50, and former first lady Mirlande  Manigat, 70, a law professor and opposition matriarch. Recent opinion polls showed Martelly ahead of Manigat.

Police and local officials said three people were killed in  electoral violence, two in the central Artibonite region and  one at Mare Rouge in the northwest. U.N. peacekeepers  intervened in scattered incidents, firing in the air in one  location to separate fighting rival supporters.

But, despite delays caused by initially missing electoral  materials, especially at polling stations in the capital  Port-au-Prince, international observers said voting seemed to  have gone much more smoothly than the chaotic first round on  Nov. 28, which dissolved into fraud allegations and unrest.

“All in all it looked like a much better day … I think it  was a more relaxed atmosphere, despite the material problems,”  Ambassador Colin Granderson, head of the Organization of  American States/Caribbean Community election observer mission  in Haiti, told Reuters.

International donors hope the run-off vote can elect a  capable, legitimate leadership in one of the world’s poorest  nations to steer a post-quake reconstruction that requires  billions of dollars of aid.

Many polling stations in the capital did not open on time  because materials, such as ink to mark voters’ fingers and  ballot papers, did not arrive early. But as the day progressed,  these problems were mostly resolved, officials said.

While polling centres in most of Haiti closed as scheduled  at 4 p.m. (2100 GMT), voting was extended by one hour in the  Port-au-Prince metropolitan area to make up for the delays.

LONG WAIT
FOR RESULTS

The counting of ballots was due to begin immediately, but  under Haiti’s election law, the Provisional Electoral Council,  or CEP, is only scheduled to announce preliminary results on  March 31, and confirm the final results on April 16.

There are fears the long wait could cause impatience and  possible protests, but CEP officials said both candidates have  agreed to make no victory declarations and hold no rallies  until the first results were announced — no easy task in a  country known for its volatile politics.

Outgoing President Rene Preval appealed for calm. “I hope  … the results won’t have any trouble,” he told reporters. Both candidates voted in the capital. Martelly, who has  promised to change a country weary of corruption and  mismanagement, was mobbed by cheering supporters when he cast  his vote in the Petionville district.

“We are living a historic moment, I feel the enthusiasm and  I am delighted change has finally come,” he told Reuters. U.N. troops protected voting centers with local police, and  U.N. armored vehicles rumbled through the capital’s streets,  many still strewn with debris left from last year’s quake.