BUSINESS CHIEFS PRESSING PREVAL ON VOTE
(Financial Times) - By Andrew Jack
Leading business chiefs are preparing to push Haiti’s president to accept the findings of an independent review of the country’s recent elections and push ahead with a run-off vote by the end of next month.
Their aim is to create conditions that might persuade René Préval, the president, to remain in Haiti rather than going into exile like his predecessors and take on a task such as addressing the country’s housing crisis.
Reginald Boulos, head of Haiti’s chamber of commerce, said he and other business leaders were meeting Mr Préval on Thursday, when he also officially received a report on the election from a mission of the Organisation of American States.
The report’s findings, leaked earlier this week, suggest Mr. Preval's preferred presidential candidate should not qualify for the second round vote.
Mr Boulos said he hoped Mr Préval would accept the findings and stay in Haiti, unlike predecessors Jean-Baptiste Aristide, now in South Africa, and Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who lives in France.
“There are two big problems currently in Haiti: corruption and a lack of leadership,” Mr Boulos said. “We have told Préval we want above all a good, transparent, democratic election.”
Pressure is also strong in the international community for fair elections, with foreign donors keen to ensure a democratic handover as they decide whether to disburse more than the $5bn pledged in post-earthquake reconstruction for 2010-11.
The OAS report is technically a recommendation, but Mr Préval agreed to scrutiny of the elections, the results of which triggered violence over concerns about abuses including ballot-stuffing.
Mr Préval is expected to comment publicly on the OAS mission’s findings as soon as Friday, and a second round could allow his departure from office by May in line with the constitution revised last year.
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