Electoral Process Fails Haiti (Again)

Garry Pierre-Pierre
AQ Web Exclusive
December 16, 2010

An electoral worker holds up a ballot for the November 28 presidential vote in Haiti. (AP Photo)

Haiti’s presidential and parliamentarian elections on November 28 were anything but predictable. Despite panic over the cholera outbreak and ensuing clashes between protesters and UN soldiers, the elections proceeded on schedule. One million Haitians, or about 10 percent of the population, braved chaotic polling stations to vote—a low turnout by any standard.

Another surprise came from Jude Celestin, President René Préval’s handpicked candidate. Despite a poor showing during the campaign, the final election results put Celestin in second place behind former first lady and current university professor, Mirlande Manigat. That means Celestin, who is engaged to, and has fathered a child with, Préval’s daughter, surprisingly qualified for a runoff in mid-January.

Yet more shocking than Celestin’s success was Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly’s failure to qualify. Despite his reputation for suggestive lyrics and performances, Martelly ran a brilliant campaign and was the favorite among the urban poor. While Manigat earned a wide margin of victory with 31.4 percent of the vote, Celestin (22.5 percent) only narrow beat out Martelly (21.8 percent) by 6,845 votes.

Almost immediately after the results were announced, hundreds of thousands of Haitians took to streets in violent protest, many of whom were supporters of Martelly. Unusually, the protests were not limited only to the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. There were reports of unrest in Cap Haitien, Les Cayes and other large cities.

Read the full text of this article at www.AmericasQuarterly.org.

Garry Pierre-Pierre is the editor and publisher of Brooklyn-based weekly newspaper the

Haitian Times and co-host of Independent Sources on CUNY TV in New York City, a show about ethnic media.

See more in:  Haiti, Democracy & Elections