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Haitians Angry Over Election Take to Streets
Backers of Rene Preval shout as they stoke a fire blocking a road in Haiti's capital. So far, Preval has a wide lead but not enough votes to avoid a runoff.
(By Eduardo Munoz -- Reuters)
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"They are plotting to keep Preval from being president," Jacky said of Haiti's electoral commission. "We are going to show the world that we are behind our president."
Preval, who was president from 1996 to 2001 and came out of quiet retirement to run for his old job, has an overwhelming lead in the presidential race. But his advantage has shrunk each day since partial results were first announced on Thursday, dipping from 61 percent to 48 percent.
If that last figure holds, Preval will be forced into a risky runoff, in which he could face a coalition of opposition groups. Violence is also feared because of the increasingly tense mood since the election in Port-au-Prince's huge slums, where Preval is popular.
A member of Haiti's electoral commission said this week that he suspected the commission of manipulating the vote totals to prevent a first-round victory for Preval. Suspicions have been raised because of a huge number of invalidated votes, topping 7 percent of all votes cast, according to partial results.
Word also has been spreading about a "quick count" conducted by international observers, which used sampling methods applied in elections in Latin America and the Caribbean. It gave Preval 54 percent of the vote.
A successful election has been viewed as crucial to returning Haiti to some semblance of political and economic order. The election was held two years after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a charismatic former priest turned politician, was forced from power and fled into exile in South Africa.
Preval is not considered nearly as flamboyant, but the depth of his popularity was on display more than ever on Monday.
At a roadblock outside Gonaives, the thugs weren't budging, but a Haitian driver displayed a photo on his cell phone of him next to Preval. A cheer went up. And the roadblock disappeared.
