PORT-AU-PRINCE – Haitians on Tuesday were marking the one-year anniversary of a devastating earthquake, against the backdrop of a looming post-election report that could stoke political unrest.
Former US President Bill Clinton, who is helping to coordinate international rebuilding efforts, was expected to take part in the official ceremonies marking the anniversary of the catastrophic earthquake, which killed some 220,000 people and flattened the western hemisphere’s poorest country. A solemn bell will sound Wednesday at 4:53 pm to mark the moment the earthquake struck, while religious services were to be held the same day at the ruined Port-au-Prince cathedral. But the country’s simmering political uncertainty could overshadow the anniversary.
A diplomatic source said Monday that international monitors from the Organization of American States (OAS) want the ruling party candidate in Haiti’s bitterly disputed presidential election to quit the runoff round, a move that could reignite tensions. Western diplomats say that the report, which has yet to be published, must be implemented in order to resolve the wrangling that has paralyzed the election to replace President Rene Preval. But if the Preval-backed candidate, Jude Celestin, is pressured to quit the runoff vote, Haiti risks a renewal of rioting that claimed five lives after last month’s announcement of preliminary results.
The diplomatic source, who asked not to be identified, said Preval would have little option but to cave in. “It will be very difficult for Preval to ignore this recommendation,” said the diplomatic source.
The first round of voting in Haiti on November 28 produced no clear winner. Celestin was awarded second place, narrowly ahead of the third-placed candidate, a popular singer called Michel Martelly. But with Martelly claiming fraud, a planned January 16 runoff vote against first-place candidate Mirlande Manigat, a former first lady, has had to be delayed — probably until February. According to the diplomatic source, the OAS — which was called in to rule on the dispute — will recommend that Martelly, not Celestin, now meet Manigat in the decisive round of voting. Preval declined to comment on the report on Monday, saying he had not yet received it. But he insisted that it was up to Haiti’s own election commission to accept or reject the OAS findings. He confirmed, however, that he would not be stepping down after his mandate formally ends on February 7 because of the election dispute.
A law passed in May 2010 allows Preval to remain in office if elections are not held on time, and he said he intends to step down when a successor is officially chosen. “I want to leave on February 7, but given what happened with the protests, there will not be an elected president on this date,” he said. Haiti has suffered from decades of political turmoil, but the latest bout comes just as many Haitians are saying they desperately need strong government to help the country off its knees after the earthquake. However, the outside pressure on the election process means that while Haitians mourn, their politicians are likely to start intensifying their squabbling and horse-trading.
