PORT-AU-PRINCE, June 30 - The newspapers and airwaves are full of accusations and counter-accusations, and every day there are more reports of harassed voters, burned ballots or hundreds of thousands left out of Sunday's process.
Today, 16 political parties called for the partial annulation of
the elections and the dissolution of the Provisional Electoral
Council (CEP). Not uncoincidentally, however, most of them are
actually political particles,
and ironically, two or three of a
certain significance, like PANPRA, participated in the electoral
joke of Jan. 18, 1993.
Marc Bazin, a U.S. pawn, and his MIDH party significantly
refrained from participating in these elections, knowing that
given the current conditions here, where it is absolutely
necessary to keep the masses under control, cool down their
demands and push them towards reconciliation, the Lavalas,
movement, called Bo Tab La (Around the Table
after its emblem),
with the full support of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was the
better bet for the U.S. government.
In stark contrast to the denunciation campaign (generously and tendentiously enlarged by the putschist press looking for revenge and with a big interest in blackening the situation) however, the international community - United Nations, Organization of American States, U.S. and its agencies, observers and foreign politicians - continue their accolades for the elections process, as if repeating a password. President Aristide, too, has added his weight to the balance in an effort to make them credible.
The most shocking event of the week was the murder of FNCD
candidate for deputy, Henock Jean-Charles. But there were also
many cases of harassment and intimidation across the country. A
preliminary report issued on Oct. 25 by the O.A.S., which gave its
stamp of approval, nevertheless noted intimidation,
candidates
destroying electoral materials,
54 ballot boxes destroyed,
threats,
fight between various party supporters,
BIV (polling
place) burned
and interference by party agents.
Parties reported hundreds of thousands of voters who could not find the polling places, were turned away on technical grounds, or could not vote because polling places were open only a few hours or elections were cancelled in their area. Participation estimates go from 30 to 65 percent of those supposedly registered. The reasons range from apathy to threats to irregularities.
Although they did not sign the 16-party denunciation, the KONAKOM
party, which was in the FNCD grouping that backed President Jean-
Bertrand Aristide's bid for president five years ago, called it a
coup d'etat
for Lavalas and FNCD continues to level heavy
criticism.
Bo Tab La, which probably won most of the 2,100 spots up for
grabs, thanks in part to the president's non-stop campaigning,
joined the chorus of complaints yesterday, saying their candidates
were hurt by the irregularities and violence, too. However, the
party endorsed the process overall. Gerard Pierre-Charles said the
elections were a political victory
for the Haitian people.
The CEP has been hedging its bets. It denounced arson attacks and
ballot theft on numerous polling places by those who lost and thus
decided to eliminate the votes
and has already begun legal
action against FNCD candidates it says are responsible in some
cases. CEP President Anselme Remy, a known Lavalas sympathizer,
went further yesterday, saying the electoral structure had been
infiltrated
at the highest level by agents of certain
political parties and also blamed problems on a familiar target of
Lavalas wrath, U.S. Republican party.
Despite the problems and complaints, however, CEP has declared the
elections are irreversible
and the government has mounted a
public relations campaign, complete with radio ads telling people
not to listen to rumors that the elections were not democratic
and leaflets with cartoons telling people to have confidence in
the CEP. Aristide has also endorsed the process, calling it an
important step toward democracy,
but he maintained his margin of
maneuver once again, saying he cannot pronounce himself fully,
since it is the CEP's responsibility.
Aristide and the Lavalas sector are willing to accept the faulty process because they will come out with control of many of the country's political posts. Despite the occupation and tutelage of the country, they have bargained they can win a margin of maneuver.
Moving Forward
In the face of the confusion, the result of the contradictions of a reconciliation process whose limits have been clearly exposed and which has been exploited by a ready and waiting press, the U.S. has been forced to recognize the problems and extreme fragility of the situation.
U.S. AID director Brian Atwood, head a delegation sent by
President Bill Clinton, tried to explain away the irregularities,
calling the elections the most complicated I have ever seen
and
also saying the CEP is responsible.
After those qualifications,
however, Atwood called the elections a major step forward for
democracy in Haiti
and said we will be able to more forward with
the next step in the process, the run-off and then the
presidential elections in November.
As Atwood's words - which are the words of the U.S. administration
- illustrate, Washington and the international community have to
move the process forward in Haiti for their own credibility. They
all backed the invasion Aristide's return, and now need to pull
off a successful and stable transition to democracy.
Clinton especially cannot afford a defeat here, since the
Republicans continue to shoot at him (the International Republican
Institute delegation, led by Congressman Porter Goss, a former CIA
station chief, was the only one to denounce the process and now
has a bill blocking aid to Haiti) and as the presidential race
heats up, Clinton needs the foreign policy victory
and he is
certainly hoping to cash in with the hundreds of thousands of
Haitian-American voters.
![[Documents menu]](../bin/bk.gif)