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02/16/2006:

"Preval Declared Winner in Haiti Election"

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Rene Preval was declared the winner of Haiti's presidential election early Thursday under an agreement between the interim government and electoral council, staving off a potential crisis over the disputed vote in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country.

With nearly all the votes counted, Preval had been just shy of the 50 percent margin needed to avoid a runoff next month. Under the agreement, some of the 85,000 blank ballots cast in the Feb. 7 election were subtracted from the total number of votes counted, giving Preval a majority, said Michel Brunache, chief of Cabinet for interim President Boniface Alexandre.

"We acknowledge the final decision of the electoral council and salute the election of Mr. Rene Preval as president of the Republic of Haiti," Prime Minister Gerard Latortue told The Associated Press in a phone interview after the agreement was made.

The agreement, which Brunache said was signed by members of the electoral council and several government ministers, came during a late night meeting of government and election officials in the electoral council offices.
washingtonpost.com

Behind the Manipulation of Haiti's Election
...After a number of delays, Haiti finally had its presidential and parliamentary elections on February 7. At first, things seemed hopeful, with the polling taking place peacefully. But then trouble started.

The leading candidate, Rene Preval, looked like he was on his way to securing a comfortable majority when things started getting murky. By February 14, with 90 percent of the votes counted, Preval had suddenly dropped in the vote count. His proportion of the vote currently stands at 48.7 percent, a tad short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

It is hard to say what exactly happened. But Preval’s abrupt drop off seems to be dubious, to say the least. And doubts about the vote are heightened by the fact that a member of the nine-person electoral council has come out and alleged fraud.

“According to me, there’s a certain level of manipulation,” Pierre Richard Duchemin told AP. “There is an effort to stop people from asking questions.”

Another official, Jean-Henoc Faroul, has also alleged deceit. “The electoral council is trying to do what it can to diminish the percentage of Preval so it goes to a second round,” Faroul, president of one electoral district, told AP.

Who would be behind the manipulation?

Gee I just cannot guess.