Haitian Presidential Candidates

[getthesenets]

Update

Jan. 10, 2011



summary

APNewsBreak: OAS says boot Haiti gov't candidate

(AP) ? 7 hours ago

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) ? An international team of election experts will recommend that Haiti's government-backed candidate be eliminated from a presidential runoff ballot due to strong evidence of fraud in voting that led to riots, according to a draft of the report obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

The report by the Organization of American States team has not been released publicly but officials confirmed its conclusions. It was to be presented to President Rene Preval later Monday, foreign and Haitian sources confirmed.

The report's most important conclusions are that the disputed Nov. 28 vote should neither be thrown out entirely nor recounted, and that enough fraudulent or improper ballots should be invalidated to drop governing-party candidate Jude Celestin into third place and out of the second-round runoff.

That would favor carnival singer Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly, a populist candidate who was in third place and out of runoff contention when results were announced last month. Former first lady and law professor Mirlande Manigat would remain in first place. All the top candidates would lose thousands of votes under the team's recommendations.



full AP article

The Associated Press: APNewsBreak: OAS says boot Haiti gov't candidate

 

[mountainannie]

(AFP) ? 4 hours ago

WASHINGTON ? The United States has revoked visas for an unspecified number of Haitian government officials as it renewed calls Friday for "a free, fair, credible election" process in Haiti.

"We have taken this action when we believe for any individual there's information that leads us to believe that the visa holder is inadmissible to the United States," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.

Speaking to reporters at the daily media briefing, Crowley declined to name the officials or list the reasons for revoking the visas, but linked the move to turmoil surrounding the presidential elections.

"Our focus at the present time is in ensuring a free, fair, credible election process in Haiti," Crowley told reporters.

Haitian media had earlier reported that nine or 10 members of the party of Jude Celestin, President Rene Preval's hand-picked protege, had their visas revoked by the United States.

The Organization of American States (OAS) mission on Wednesday called for Celestin to be eliminated from the delayed second round of voting.

Initial results in mid-December showed that opposition candidate Michel Martelly lost out to Celestin by less than 7,000 votes, sparking riots between rival factions that left at least five people dead.

Opposition candidates accused Preval of being in cahoots with the electoral commission to orchestrate massive fraud in favor of 48-year-old Celestin, who is also the president's son-in-law.

"We want to see the government of Haiti embrace the recommendations of the OAS verification mission report," Crowley said.

"We want to see security and stability sustained in Haiti. We want to see the election results reflect the will of the Haitian people," he said, adding there are "strong reasons to believe" they do not reflect the people's will.

"And, to the extent that there are individuals who are connected with episodes of violence or corruption, we will not hesitate to take appropriate action."

Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations, has expressed concern over how the return to Haiti of ousted dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier would affect political events in Haiti.

But pressure has mounted on Duvalier as a rights group said Haitian officials were opening a probe into alleged torture and killings during his 15-year rule between 1971 and 1986.

"I don't think his visit has worked out quite the way he expected," Crowley said.

Copyright ? 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

[mountainannie]

Conments from Lance Durban (YEs I have his permission)
who is an American who has lived in Haiti for 20 plus years and runs an electronic factory there.


"Figaro (in Washington D.C.) seems to have missed something that everyone in Haiti... Haitian nationals, U.N. peacekeepers, the international community, etc... is accutely aware of, and that is that Mr. Celestin has very little real support in the country. His supposed 2nd or 3rd place finish seems hard to reconcile to the fact that it is difficult to find many in Haiti... beyond those whose jobs and economic interests are directly tied to the existing government... supporting his candidacy. Fact is, Celestin had some pretty powerful support from the Preval administration, yet was still unable to put it away in Round 1.

If it is Manigat VS Celestin and a fair run-off, it's going to be Manigat. In a Manigat VS Martelly run-off, it would likely be Martelly, simply because Sweet Mickey has been the most outspoken against the Preval administration. Perhaps unfortunately, this has become an election of protest and not about Haiti's potential or which candidate has the best plan for the future.

Madame Manigat is no fool and would surely prefer to run against Celestin if there were any hope that the run-off election would be even reasonably fair. And, since fraud would be pretty hard to conceal in a landslide, my guess is that the Manigat team is receptive to Figaro's contention that Haiti should run its own election using the original Nov 28th results and without any OAS recommendations. The problem for Celestin (and Preval) however, is twofold: (1) Getting Celestin into the run-off without seeing the street explode, and (2) Somehow jiggering it so that Celestin doesn't then get swamped by Manigat.

The big mystery is why Preval, who came into office on a wave of popular support, seems now willing to throw what little support remains into the ill-conceived presidential candidacy of Jude Celestin. Loyalty is nice, but when the ship is sinking it might be advisable to jump in the lifeboat even if it does have OAS painted on the side."

 

[Chirimoya]

Now what?

BBC News - Jude Celestin 'to quit' Haiti presidential election

 

[mountainannie]

that was probably the very best thing..

now the run off will be between Manigat and Sweet Micky

and that is a horse race

Manigat, the 70 year old law professor, wife of a former president

Micky,

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CBDoCXk6mAw" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

my money is on Micky!

 

[mountainannie]

no.. it is NOT going to be so easy



Haitian presidential candidate Jude C?lestin resists pressure to withdraw
The Miami Herald - By JACQUELINE CHARLES - January 26, 2011


PORT-AU-PRINCE -- Haitian presidential candidate Jude C?lestin is
resisting pressure from his own political coalition to withdraw his
candidacy and break an electoral impasse.

``Jude doesn't agree,'' Joseph Lambert, head of the INITE (UNITY)
coalition told The Miami Herald. ``We asked him to remove himself and he
said, `I am not made that way. It is not part of my mental fabric.'''

A report by an Organization of American States team, which was formed
after allegations of massive fraud in the Nov. 18 presidential election,
suggests that a runoff election should be between former first lady Mirlande
Manigat, who finished first, and singer Michel ``Sweet Micky'' Martelly, who
finished third.


It arrived at its conclusion after reviewing 234 tally sheets out of more
than 900 from the disputed elections. The report shows 50,000 votes had to
be cast aside as either fraudulent or ``irregular'' votes.

Preliminary results released by the Haitian government had Manigat first
and Celestin, the hand-picked candidate of President Ren? Pr?val, second,
with Martelly trailing by only several thousand votes.

Lambert said INITE ``in principle'' has agreed to ask Celestin to withdraw
but is still wrestling with the matter.

Celestin, however, wants his day in court where his lawyers are working to
prove that he does indeed have a right to advance into the runoff despite
the OAS findings, said Lambert.

Celestin and his lawyer argue that the OAS report is flawed.

The report has been a point of contention between Haitian officials, who
disagree with the results and methodology, and the United States.

Susan Rice, the top U.S. diplomat to the United Nations, last week warned
Haiti that it could lose international assistance if it does not accept the
OAS recommendations. But even the OAS has said that its recommendations are
not results, but rather calculations, and they cannot be adopted until a
phase for disputes is completed. Disputes are expected to be heard late
Wednesday or Thursday.

Pr?val has personally held several meetings with coalition members to try
and persuade C?lestin to withdraw. But the candidate has not attended any of
the meetings.

Meanwhile, Haiti is in a wait-and-see mode, and some have started to
question what they perceive as ``big-foot'' diplomacy on the part of the
United States.

``Everyone sees the hands of the international community in these
elections,'' said a frustrated Lambert. ``They have law, but we don't' have
laws? We are not a country anymore?''

He feels such efforts could trigger unrest. ``They are inviting
catastrophe after the departure of Ren? Pr?val. Everytime we have a
president leave office we have catastrophe,'' he said. ``And the people are
the victims. My objective is to have a constitutional government replace
this government in a ceremony. All of my efforts are to ensure President
Pr?val finishes the end of his mandate.''

 

[getthesenets]

"vote verification process"?

are they serious?


there's a story I learned when my parents were giving me religious instruction (mods. by easy.....has nothing to do with religion)

king has to settle a dispute.... 2 women claim that the same baby is theirs'.

king proposes to cut the child in half and give a piece to each woman...

the TRUE mother....would rather see the other woman have the child than to see the baby harmed...the liar didn't care.



In Haiti..and most recently in Ivory Coast..... some of these so called "leaders" are demonstrating that they don't care one bit for their country's future.
sometimes results are rigged....you didn't win/lose legitimately, but for the PROGRESS of the country...you have to step down or fall back.

Al Gore eventually fell back, and because he already had wealth and could earn a living doing SEVERAL other things...he realized that conceding would be the best thing to do.

Celestin would rather have half of baby

 

[Mariot]

Celestin would rather have half of baby

considering the outcome of the bush presidency, i'm not so sure that conceding was the best thing. and even if we leave bush aside, how is a country going to move forward if rigged elections are accepted? elections are always rigged in order to preserve the status quo and prevent progress.

 

[getthesenets]

considering the outcome of the bush presidency, i'm not so sure that conceding was the best thing. and even if we leave bush aside, how is a country going to move forward if rigged elections are accepted? elections are always rigged in order to preserve the status quo and prevent progress.

I think any true leader has to have an understanding of what political realities are in his/her area/region/country.

Once person understand what the history has been, he/she makes a decision to address those realities.

Either accepts them, adapts to them, realistically tries to change them as much as is possible, OR they decide to operate outside of the political arena entirely.

A lot of smart and effective people can accomplish plenty outside of the system. They don't have access and control of HUGE amounts of money by operating outside of the political machine, though. so...politics has that as a lure.....and that's the main reason why many even enter that realm...not to change the status quo, not to help people, not to help the country move forward.....BUT to steal money.

Celestin isn't being reluctant to drop out because he ACTUALLY believes that he can help the country move forward more effectively than the other candidates....he wants access to all that money.

 

[Mariot]

I think any true leader has to have an understanding of what political realities are in his/her area/region/country.

Once person understand what the history has been, he/she makes a decision to address those realities.

Either accepts them, adapts to them, realistically tries to change them as much as is possible, OR they decide to operate outside of the political arena entirely.

A lot of smart and effective people can accomplish plenty outside of the system. They don't have access and control of HUGE amounts of money by operating outside of the political machine, though. so...politics has that as a lure.....and that's the main reason why many even enter that realm...not to change the status quo, not to help people, not to help the country move forward.....BUT to steal money.

Celestin isn't being reluctant to drop out because he ACTUALLY believes that he can help the country move forward more effectively than the other candidates....he wants access to all that money.

ok, than he can be blamed for not dropping out for selfish reasons. but i think no serious opposition should ever accept rigged elections. and btw. gore didn't accept defeat because it was the best for the country, but because he didn't want to be considered a a sore looser. he tried to avoid an image that would have hurt his political career even further, and accepted something that damaged us reputation.

 

[getthesenets]

ok, than he can be blamed for not dropping out for selfish reasons. but i think no serious opposition should ever accept rigged elections. and btw. gore didn't accept defeat because it was the best for the country, but because he didn't want to be considered a a sore looser. he tried to avoid an image that would have hurt his political career even further, and accepted something that damaged us reputation.

Celestin and EVERY other candidate and potential candidate tried to throw their hat in the ring knowing full well the history (and recent history) of national elections in Haiti.

rigged elections? hahahah the process for accepting candidates was rigged...a Haitian ambassador to the US was disqualified from running for some arbitrary reason. a high ranking government official...it's all a big sham.

I was using Gore to make another point, that because he had other lucrative options..conceding the election wasn't as big a deal as in places where politics is more of an industry than anything else. Gore is the son of a high ranking politician, he understands politics. Sometimes you have to fall on your sword. You are in a national election in country with political stability, so eventually, you will concede and move on. If you live in a politically unstable country, more likely for you to do what is the norm THERE.
I gave up my feelings about the stolen election when Bush got elected to 2nd term..you get what you pay for.

 

[mountainannie]

ok, than he can be blamed for not dropping out for selfish reasons. but i think no serious opposition should ever accept rigged elections. and btw. gore didn't accept defeat because it was the best for the country, but because he didn't want to be considered a a sore looser. he tried to avoid an image that would have hurt his political career even further, and accepted something that damaged us reputation.

AMAZING

YOU CAN READ AL GORE's MIND

Do you have other psychic powers?

 

[Mariot]

AMAZING

YOU CAN READ AL GORE's MIND

Do you have other psychic powers?

you don't have to be psychic to know this, just familiar with how politics and the media work. just for the fun of it i googled al gore and sore looser, and the first hit provided me with this quote:

Traditionally, candidates who lost and cried foul had a rather short window to prove their case before the media lost patience and started calling the candidate out as petulant and self-involved. Just ask Al Gore, who was hounded in the press by the specter of the "sore loser" label practically from the moment he withdrew his concession in the early morning hours following Election Day. I doubt a day went by during the Florida recount when there wasn't a "sore loser" reference to Gore in the press. (In Nexis, I found nearly 900 "sore loser" press mentions in Gore articles between November and December 2000.)

Norm Coleman's a sore loser. Why won't the press say so? | Media Matters for America

 

[mountainannie]

Madame vs Mickey in Haiti presidential vote | World | Reuters

Elections are this Saturday

Sweet Mickey is also known for cross dressing, although the article fails to mention it...

 

[Chip]

Word is Martelly has a big lead and that he will choose Wyclef as his pm and keep Joseph as the ambassador to the States. Also, expect the dual residency law to be rammed through and finalized so that the Haitian diaspora can come back and own businesses and generally get involved in the reconstruction. This is good news for Hispaniola to say the least.

 

[mountainannie]

Word is Martelly has a big lead and that he will choose Wyclef as his pm and keep Joseph as the ambassador to the States. Also, expect the dual residency law to be rammed through and finalized so that the Haitian diaspora can come back and own businesses and generally get involved in the reconstruction. This is good news for Hispaniola to say the least.

My understanding is that the provision for dual citizenship is a constitutional amendment.. which must be passed by two successive legislatures and implemented by the third.. it was passed one time, so the quickest it could be implemented is ?? four years? or five? not quite clear on when the legislative elections are..

 

[AlterEgo]

It's Tuesday afternoon......and I still haven't heard who won in Haiti.....

Nothing in the news, anyone know?

AE

 

[shawn27]

Word is Martelly has a big lead and that he will choose Wyclef as his pm and keep Joseph as the ambassador to the States. Also, expect the dual residency law to be rammed through and finalized so that the Haitian diaspora can come back and own businesses and generally get involved in the reconstruction. This is good news for Hispaniola to say the least.

Do you really think Haitians living abroad have any intention to return to Haiti? It will take years for Haiti to get out of this rut.

 

[Chip]

Do you really think Haitians living abroad have any intention to return to Haiti? It will take years for Haiti to get out of this rut.

I've met more than one Haitian that said they will return and my Haitian friend assures me many will return when this dual citizenship issue is resolved. After all, why not? It's their country and there will be a lot of business opportunities in the coming years.

 

[RonS]

My understanding is that the provision for dual citizenship is a constitutional amendment.. which must be passed by two successive legislatures and implemented by the third.. it was passed one time, so the quickest it could be implemented is ?? four years? or five? not quite clear on when the legislative elections are..

That's also what I've been told. One of the potential problems with the new President's agenda regarding the Diaspora is that whoever is elected will face an opposition party in the legislature. My question is: how much support does the proposal for a Constitutional amendment have with members of that branch of government?