Thousands of people of Cite-Soleil line up to vote in Haiti's presidential election at the neighborhood of Delmas in Port-au-Prince yesterday. Haiti's presidential election got off to a rocky start yesterday after repeated delays as thousands of people trekked to polling stations in the capital only to find them still closed. - REUTERS
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP):
MASSES OF Haitians flocked to polls yesterday to vote in an election aimed at restoring democracy in this impoverished nation, overwhelming electoral officials who struggled to cope with the large turnout.
"The people have voted massively," said United Nations special envoy Juan Gabriel Valdes after election officials extended the voting period by several hours.
At dawn, when the 800 polling stations were supposed to open, it immediately became apparent that the voting would not go smoothly. In the upscale Petionville suburb of the capital, members of a crowd of thousands of voters stormed a voting station. Several women fainted.
FRUSTRATION
Across town, near the gang-controlled Cite Soleil slum, frustrated voters pounded on empty ballot boxes and chanted: "It's time for Cite Soleil to vote!" The polls opened at the site hours later.
Government officials sought to maintain calm, assuring Haitians that everyone would have a chance to vote. By mid-afternoon, the process appeared more orderly. U.N. troops were deployed in force to calm the crowds.
Election authorities said the problems were largely limited to Port-au-Prince. By early afternoon, all polls across this country of 8.3 million were open, said U.N. spokesman David Wimhurst.
"Voting operations (in the countryside) are normal, with some exceptions," said Electoral Council President Max Mathurin.
The stakes are huge - more than simply who will be president and who will occupy seats in parliament. Haiti, which has seen only one president complete his term in office, could implode if the elections go wrong, experts say.
In the aftermath of a February 2004 rebellion that toppled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, gangs have gone on a kidnapping spree and the country's few factories are closing - causing thousands of layoffs - because of security problems and a lack of foreign investment.
U.S. officials have warned that a collapse could trigger another wave of Haitians migrating aboard boats to the United States. That occurred in 1994, prompting Washington to send troops to Haiti to restore Aristide to power, three years after he fell to a military coup.
Stephane Lacroix, a spokesman for Haiti's electoral council, said four people died at polling stations throughout the country, but declined to give details.
Local radio reported that gunfire killed a policeman and civilian at a polling station in Gros Morne, a village in northern Haiti. Details weren't immediately available. The other two people who died were reportedly elderly men who collapsed while waiting to vote.
PREVAL THE FRONT-RUNNER
René Preval, a 63-year-old former president backed by many poor Haitians, is the front-runner, according to pre-election opinion polls. Many supporters of Aristide, who was ousted for a second time in a bloody rebellion two years ago, back Preval.
Voters exhibited huge patience as they waited in lines for hours at polling stations in the capital, but some voters angrily roamed the streets, fuming at being turned away because of a myriad of problems.
"If these elections are not fair and if the person whom the population wants doesn't win, houses will burn and heads will be cut off," said Jean Pierre, an unemployed 33-year-old man.
The words recalled the battle cry of Haitian army Gen. Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who led a bloody rebellion against French troops and colonists in 1802: "Cut off their heads and burn their houses."
Preval, in an interview with The Associated Press in his northern village of Marmelade, said the large turnout means "people are investing everything in this election."
Preval said if he wins, Haitians must recognize their country _ the poorest in the Western Hemisphere _ is in dire straits and should not set their expectations too high.
"We will not be able to do everything right away," he said. "But we are determined to do our best and raise the standard of living for the people of Haiti."
Wimhurst blamed the problems on poor planning and a lack of trained workers.
"Some polling workers didn't show up for work, so we're going to grab people from the crowd, give them some quick training and get them in there," Wimhurst said.
Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue told the AP that polls would remain open as long as possible.
"Every Haitian will have a chance to vote," he said.
Besides Preval, other top contenders among the 33 presidential candidates are Charles Henri Baker, 50, whose family runs factories that assembles clothing for export, and Leslie Manigat, 75, who was president for five months in 1988 until the army ousted him.
Also running are a former rebel in the insurgency that forced Aristide from office in February 2004 and a former army officer accused in the death of a Haitian journalist. If no candidate wins a majority, a March 19 runoff would be held between the top two candidates.
