The Provisional Electoral Council chose to postpone Sunday’s election because there is “too much violence throughout the country”, Pierre-Louis Opont, president of the body that oversees elections, said at a news conference in the capital, which had been rocked in recent days by opposition protests calling for a halt to the vote.
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This latest cancellation is the second time Pourt au-Prince has postponed elections, originally scheduled for December 27, in part, because opposition politicians have refused to participate, citing a lack of confidence in the CEP.
“We are ready for war”, Philippe said. “The election was a fraud”.
“The global community called on Haiti”s government and opposition over the weekend to quickly reach an agreement on the political impasse that forced postponement of Sunday”s presidential and legislative elections. He came in nearly eight percentage points behind Moise, a banana-exporter and political newcomer running on a platform to modernise agriculture and better manage water in the flood and drought-prone nation. “I will not betray them and I will not back down”, Moise said.
The United Nations, European Union and the Organization of American States asked the two sides to resolve their differences and allow the elections to proceed.
In announcing its decision, the council did not set a new date for the election. This controversy centers on the first round of the vote, which took place in October.
Opposition leaders said the protests would continue, in a move that will keep up the pressure on Martelly as different factions try to influence the contours of any transitional administration charged with organizing the delayed election.
That anomaly has been largely fixed, but the observers feared turnout in the second round vote would be even lower because Haitians were fearful of being caught up in the clashes between police and protesters.
However, his five-year term only ends in May, leaving some flexibility for the vote to happen later, with some proposals this week including a March election. It’s unclear if an interim government will take power then or if some other solution can be negotiated.
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“This unfolding political crisis has already started to undermine the economic and social conditions of the population and the poorest, which represent the majority of Haitians are going to be the most affected as always”, Fatton said.
