An independent electoral commission in Haiti is due to deliver its report on the first round of the presidential election this Thursday amid fervent claims of electoral fraud, while it seems highly unlikely that the second round of voting will take place Jan. 3 as originally planned. Five representatives from varying religious groups and nongovernmental organizations were appointed to the commission by electoral decree in December to investigate the claims of foul play. However it seems unlikely the second round of voting will go ahead Sunday. Rosny Desroches, spokesperson for the independent electoral commission, said the commission had established a sample of 2,000 ballot tallies out of 13,000 local counts and was working to analyze them. He admitted that it would be difficult to complete the task by Wednesday, as had been mandated by presidential decree.
“We’ll do what we can to prepare the report for Dec. 30, but I won’t hide the fact that its an enormous challenge. We’re not specialists in electoral law,” Desroches told AFP.
Haitian Prime Minister Evans Paul is hopeful that the commission will allow the second round of elections to take place Jan.11 so power can be handed over on the Feb. 7 deadline.
“We’re hoping that this commission will shed some light so the country can re-find its political equilibrium.” Paul said.
Full Article: Haiti Set to Discover If Presidential Elections Were Fraudulent | News | teleSUR English.
