Haiti unlikely to hold Jan. 8 election-officials
Wed 21 Dec 2005 5:41 PM ET
By Joseph Guyler Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Haiti may not hold long-delayed elections on Jan. 8 because of problems distributing voter cards, recruiting workers and locating polling stations, election officials said on Wednesday.
With 18 days left until the election, only 500,000 of the 3.5 million identification cards voters need to cast ballots have been handed out and most of the 40,000 workers needed to operate polling stations have yet to be recruited.
Provisional Electoral Council President Max Mathurin said it was crucial that the technical problems be solved before the election is held to avoid protests in the troubled Caribbean nation after the vote."We are not going to lead the country into a disaster," Mathurin said in a statement on local radio. "Because if the elections are not organized in acceptable conditions, we'll have to face protests and unrest even before the proclamation of the results."Haiti is struggling to hold its first elections since President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was forced from office on Feb. 29, 2004, during a bloody rebellion by former soldiers and armed gangs.
Voting for the presidency and legislature is scheduled for Jan. 8 with a run-off on Feb. 15.At the start of the year, Haiti scheduled the election for Nov. 13. It was rescheduled to Nov. 20, then to Dec. 27 and then to Jan. 8.When they announced the Jan. 8 date in late November, elections officials called it "the real, final one."Mathurin said a meeting to discuss another postponement would be held on Thursday.Some council members have suggested Jan. 22 for the first round. But one council member, Patrick Fequiere, said at least two more months are needed to ensure credible elections.
Election officials blamed the delays in part on the Organization of American States (OAS), which they say was responsible for voting card distribution and locating polling centers."Our decision to set the January 8th deadline for the first round was based on OAS' commitment that voting cards distribution would have been completed by December 25," said Rosemond Pradel, the council's secretary-general, who said the OAS was not living up to its commitments.
OAS officials in Port-au-Prince were not immediately available for comment.During a visit to Haiti on Tuesday, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns urged authorities to hold the vote as scheduled and assured them of Washington's continued support.But U.S. officials said Washington was not likely to give the U.N. mission in Haiti 10 helicopters it has requested to help transport election material to remote areas.Most registered voters still do not know where they are going to vote.
Many have complained they will have to walk long distances to get to polling centers, particularly in provincial areas where many locations are not reachable by car.
Some voters say they are assigned to polling stations outside the district where they are authorized to vote.Political parties and candidates have also expressed doubt the vote can be held on Jan. 8."I've never seen elections so poorly organized," said Evans Paul, a presidential candidate. "It's not acceptable that people have to struggle for hours in line to register, they have to do the same to get the voting cards, and now they have to walk six hours to reach a place to cast their ballot."
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
Wed 21 Dec 2005 5:41 PM ET
By Joseph Guyler Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Haiti may not hold long-delayed elections on Jan. 8 because of problems distributing voter cards, recruiting workers and locating polling stations, election officials said on Wednesday.
With 18 days left until the election, only 500,000 of the 3.5 million identification cards voters need to cast ballots have been handed out and most of the 40,000 workers needed to operate polling stations have yet to be recruited.
Provisional Electoral Council President Max Mathurin said it was crucial that the technical problems be solved before the election is held to avoid protests in the troubled Caribbean nation after the vote."We are not going to lead the country into a disaster," Mathurin said in a statement on local radio. "Because if the elections are not organized in acceptable conditions, we'll have to face protests and unrest even before the proclamation of the results."Haiti is struggling to hold its first elections since President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was forced from office on Feb. 29, 2004, during a bloody rebellion by former soldiers and armed gangs.
Voting for the presidency and legislature is scheduled for Jan. 8 with a run-off on Feb. 15.At the start of the year, Haiti scheduled the election for Nov. 13. It was rescheduled to Nov. 20, then to Dec. 27 and then to Jan. 8.When they announced the Jan. 8 date in late November, elections officials called it "the real, final one."Mathurin said a meeting to discuss another postponement would be held on Thursday.Some council members have suggested Jan. 22 for the first round. But one council member, Patrick Fequiere, said at least two more months are needed to ensure credible elections.
Election officials blamed the delays in part on the Organization of American States (OAS), which they say was responsible for voting card distribution and locating polling centers."Our decision to set the January 8th deadline for the first round was based on OAS' commitment that voting cards distribution would have been completed by December 25," said Rosemond Pradel, the council's secretary-general, who said the OAS was not living up to its commitments.
OAS officials in Port-au-Prince were not immediately available for comment.During a visit to Haiti on Tuesday, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns urged authorities to hold the vote as scheduled and assured them of Washington's continued support.But U.S. officials said Washington was not likely to give the U.N. mission in Haiti 10 helicopters it has requested to help transport election material to remote areas.Most registered voters still do not know where they are going to vote.
Many have complained they will have to walk long distances to get to polling centers, particularly in provincial areas where many locations are not reachable by car.
Some voters say they are assigned to polling stations outside the district where they are authorized to vote.Political parties and candidates have also expressed doubt the vote can be held on Jan. 8."I've never seen elections so poorly organized," said Evans Paul, a presidential candidate. "It's not acceptable that people have to struggle for hours in line to register, they have to do the same to get the voting cards, and now they have to walk six hours to reach a place to cast their ballot."
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
