The demonstrators have accused the government of planning a fraudulent legislative ballot on February 28 and said they would boycott the vote. *Photo credit: secretaryclinton.files.wordpress.com
WASHINGTON, CMC – The Organization of American States (OAS) says it will send a long-term Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) to Haiti for the electoral processes expected to take place in the French-speaking Caribbean country next year.
The OAS said it had received a request from President Rene Preval and that it would be sending about 80 observers to the legislative elections of February 2010, and twice that number to the presidential elections in November.
“The objective of the Electoral Observation Mission is to accompany the electoral process, identify the strengths and weaknesses of the organization of elections with the goal of reinforcing the capabilities of the Provisional Electoral Council,” the OAS said in a statement.
“In this spirit, the MOE plans to conduct a follow-up to its recommendations with the goal of guaranteeing the implementation of a transparent, inclusive and democratic electoral process.”
The OAS said it would also continue providing technical support to the Provisional Electoral Council, through training of officials to increase the autonomy of the body and to consolidate the durability of the aid provided.
It said that the training will take place after the February elections and is a necessary condition for the Council to be able to autonomously administer the electoral registry and the tabulation centre.
“Therefore, the OAS will not be involved in the organization or implementation of elections in Haiti, as has been the case in the past. The decision to solely observe the development of the elections in Haiti during the year 2010 is based on the acknowledgement of the need for the Haitian State to equip itself with electoral institutions that are transparent, efficient, permanent and trustworthy,” the OAS said.
Meanwhile, supporters of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide marched through the capital on Wednesday calling for his return from exile and protesting his party’s exclusion from the upcoming elections.
The demonstrators have accused the government of planning a fraudulent legislative ballot on February 28 and said they would boycott the vote.
Aristide’s populist Fanmi Lavalas political movement has been banned from participating in the election on grounds it failed to meet the legal requirements for registration.
Aristide, a former Roman Catholic priest, was ousted in a 1991 military coup and restored to power three years later under a U.S. military occupation. He won a second presidential election in 2000 but fled Haiti in 2004 in the face of a bloody armed rebellion and under U.S. and French pressure to quit. He is now living in exile in South Africa.
