Haiti panel says presidential runoff can take place Jan 17 if will exists to make improvements
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti(AP) _ A panel that evaluated Haiti’s contested presidential election says the majority of the irregularities it found in first-round voting were due to ineptitude by poll workers.
Commission member Rosny Desroches said Monday that only 8 per cent of examined tally sheets and other documents from the Oct. 25 vote were free of irregularities. But the commission describes that as a woeful lack of preparation rather than vote-rigging as the opposition has asserted.
He says commission members did not see evidence of widespread fraud favouring any candidate.
No. 2 finisher Jude Celestin has rejected the official election results and refused to campaign in recent weeks. His team has been mum about the commission’s findings.
Desroches says a Jan. 17 runoff can reasonably take place if the will exists to swiftly make improvements.
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Alwin Marshall-Squire is the Editor-in-Chief of S-Q Publications Inc., overseeing editorial strategy for GTA Weekly, GTA Today, and Vision Newspaper. He leads the publications’ mission to deliver bold, original journalism focused on the people and communities of the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, and the global Caribbean diaspora.
Also writes for GTA Weekly and GTA Today.
