The extra police presence, a combination of Haitian national
police and UN peacekeepers, was intended to prevent a repeat of the violence
that followed the December announcement of the apparent winners from the first
round.
Haiti’s electoral council was scheduled to announce the
preliminary count of votes in the race that featured musician Michel Martelly
against former first lady Mirlande Manigat. They are seeking to replace
President Rene Preval, barred from running for a third term under the
constitution.
Martelly, widely known by his stage name “Sweet Micky,” is a
first-time political candidate. Manigat is a university administrator and
former senator. Either will face a challenging environment that includes a
Senate and Chamber of Deputies controlled by Preval’s party and widespread
anger over the slow progress of reconstruction from the January 2010
earthquake.
The electoral council was supposed to release preliminary
results on March 31. But officials said they had to delay the announcement to
give observers more time to review suspected fraudulent ballots. Final results
are scheduled to be released on April 16.
Much of Haiti was paralyzed by riots after the council
announced first-round results that excluded Martelly from the runoff. The
Organization of American States later determined those results were incorrect
and the musician had come in second and gained a spot in the second ballot.
“We’re waiting for the results but people may not accept
them,” said Wilno Jean-Baptiste, 30, a supermarket employee on his way to work.
“It’s possible we could have chaos again.”
