Monday, December 20, 2010

Haitian Electorate with Nothing Else to Lose


Martelly snuck into the back door

Tire burning in protest of contested election results
Port-au-Prince, Haiti—Rumors spread like California wild fires the week following the Nov. 28 Haitian elections. Sparks of violent protests flared sporadically until the coalition of 12 candidates retracted earlier calls for cancellation of the elections and decided the discredited Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) should at least count the votes.
Those developments had set the stage up for an atmosphere loaded with suspicions, speculations and anxiety as candidates attacked each other all week-long. However, much of their distrust and disgusts targeted the CEP questioning its ability or lack there of to administer impartial vote tabulations.
Facing serious fraud allegations and numerous counts of voter intimidation, INITE, the party of President Rene Preval,

Jude Celestin, presidential candidate of the INITE party
engaged in some clever political maneuvering by playing down expectations. INITE representatives publicly acknowledged a possible defeat in the elections, suggesting– even with the accusations– they may not have gotten enough vote to make it to the second round, a strategy that worked well by deflecting would be angry criticisms aimed at them over the allegations. Nevertheless, that strategy may have backfired on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the CEP announced INITE’s unexpected qualification to the second round with 22.4 percent of the votes. Consequently, the party’s headquarter in Port-au-prince found itself in the bulls’ eye of vindictive fires and fuming rage.
Meanwhile, popular singer Michel Martelly felt a strong populist wind at his back following his inspiring anti-establishment rhetoric that led to symbolic calls for cancellations of the elections. The candidate, at times, seemed overconfident and even

Third place candidate, Michel Martelly (Sweet Micky)
bold. “If the results come out in favor of Jude Celestin and myself, I will reject them because he does not have the popularity nor the support system to make it to the second round,” he declared in a midweek press conference. Some called the statements unwise or premature political miscalculations, but Martelly– not known for his political correctness— positioned himself as a possible winner with that move. Nevertheless, the CEP did not have any kind words for him when it announced Martelly was a disappointing third with 21.8 percent of the votes. He would have missed the second round by some 6,845 votes. Rejecting the results, his devout supporters violently stormed the public sphere immediately after the announcements expressing disapproval and disappointments. As a result, conspiracy theories became prevalent on Tuesday night: the difference in votes between Martelly and Jude Celestin of INITE would be a direct result of Celestin’s alleged mischief.
For her part, Mirlande Manigat was strategic over the course of the suspenseful week staying away from swirling speculations of her leading in early vote counts. Therefore, the CEP’s announcement of her winning 31.9 percent of the votes to lead the race was not a surprise. She would square off with Celestin in

Leading candidate Mirlande Manigat
the second round scheduled for Jan. 16, 2011; however, that scenario is not likely since international observers and government officials have had to walk a political landmine. The apparent peaceful atmosphere is fragile and necessitates intricate balancing to appease the protesters and prevent further chaos. As a result, pundits speculate a compromise could be in the making where all three candidates could take part in the second round. However, the constitutionality of such compromise remains questionable.
While protestors fought for democratic ends, they used the most undemocratic means and took the country deep into the familiar realm of lawlessness. Absent any symbolic show of unity and leadership to denounce the despicable acts of violence in the most robust of terms, that angry electorate, with nothing else to lose but their very soul, will not stop until transparency and fairness ensure that their choices are prioritized.
Rapadoo,

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