Hello all: Here I am holed up at Hope House due to the "hot climate" in town today (and elsewhere in Haiti) as a result of the announcements made regarding the election results. Tires are burning, roads blocked and in some towns buildings ransacked and burned. Other areas where partisans are more or less satisfied with the results in there neck of the woods, remain relatively calm.

Below is a note I recieved from a friend for those who are interested in a bit more detail regarding the elections.


....................As if an earthquake, a hurricane, and Cholera were not enough, now we're in the throes of major upheaval over the preliminary results of the 28 November presidential elections that were announced last evening. I can't say we haven't been anticipating this, but when it comes it is always uncomfortable. Most people are remaining in their homes while the turmoil boils.
Below is an article that gives a good overview of what the protests are about. I'm sure there was a large dose of disorganization and inadequate planning in the electoral process, but they do not account for all of these irregularities.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/04/v-fullstory/1958005/count-every-ballot-or-else-haiti.html
One of the main objections is that the results announced last night do not match what the National Election Observation Council had reported a couple days ago. Their observers polled voters at 15% of the voting centers on election day; and when asked who they voted for, 30% cited Mme Mannigat, 25% Mr Martelly (aka, Sweet Micky), and 20% Jude Célestin (the 'dauphin', heir apparent of Président Préval). Last night's preliminary official results gave Mme Mannigat 31.37%, Jude Célestin at 22.48%, and Michel Martelly at 21.84%---a mere 6,845 of the over 1million votes separate Martelly from Célestin. The next closest candidate, Jean-Henry Céant, received 8.18% of the vote.
The question is how much of the vote for Jude Célestin is real vs rigged? The 18 candidates (one declined to run for election the week before) have the right to protest the results within the next 3 days. Final results are due 20 December. Only two of the multitude of legislative seats were decided, so the rest will again be up for vote in the 2nd phase 16 January 2011.
Among the likely decisions the CEP (Haitian Electoral Council overseeing the elections) could make at this point, which one will it make:
Activate its option and place a third candidate on the ballot (Martelly)?Hold its line and keep only Mme Mannigat and M Célestin on the docket for January 2011? Boy, will Haïti be hot for a long time if they choose this one!
Suddenly find during the final verification process that Martelly did indeed receive more legitimate votes than Célestin and the revote becomes Mannigat vs Martelly instead? That, too, will cause a political furor.
Scrap the whole election and start over (not likely!)
I've lived through many of the elections the last 23 years here, but this, of all of them, may be the most crucial. Much of what will happen in rebuilding, which in itself will create a forward motion we've not seen for a long time, hinges on the election of a good and true leader for Haïti. All the previous elections have been troubled and many patently corrupt; but the 2005 election stood out as the best run and most representative and fair. If somehow the CEP could return to the 2005 process in the second round, it would have a much better chance for success.
Prayer requests...
Personal safety for the Haitian people. A few will spark a great deal of turmoil and innocent bystanders can get caught in the middle.That calm will restore quickly. Haitian people cannot afford this disruption, it causes enormous economic upheaval for persons who already have extremely marginal resources.
Our staff that are on the road and caught in the midst of the manifestations. Our SCMS staff and our sister work, LMS, are out delivering the US Government's donated Cholera supplies that we just received and have been caught amidst the demonstrations in different outlying towns. Most areas of the country already do have supplies, however, these are more for backup.Wise choices by the CEP.
That the candidates truly favored by the Haitian people will have an opportunity to be fairly voted upon and the most favored fairly selected. It is critical for the future of Haïti. And one more...
Continued decrease and eventual containment of the Cholera outbreak. Thankfully, although all areas of the country are affected, the number of persons falling sick seems to be stable and the number of deaths is decreasing.


Hope you found it to be interesting and informative reading.....until next time......
Debbie