Haiti Election 2015 - Haiti Observer Blog

Senate candidate Jean Renel Sénatus aka "zokiki" could not have a better weekend. He can now just wait for the other senators as he was declared winner of the senatorial election in the West Department by the Departmental Electoral Office of Litigation (BCED).

Sena kandida Jean Renel senatus " zokiki " pa t 'kapab gen yon pi bon wikenn. Li kapab kounye a jis rete tann pou lòt senatè yo. Biwo BCED te deklare'l gayan nan eleksyon senatoryal nan Depatman West

Ki sa ou panse?

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We just learned that the Candidate for Platform Pitit Desalin Moise Jean Charles has selected Daly Valet to become his campaign manager for the upcoming Presidential Election in Haiti. So far the reaction of the public has been mixed. Some think it was a good decision, and that Daly Valet will be able to bring a lot to the table, including his reputation. Others feel that if they put their head together, the Pitit Desalin party will be able to run a smart and successful campaign.

Daly valet is the star reporter of Radio Vision 2000, former director of the newspaper Le Matin Boulos and the Director General at Radio Trans Inter- 98.1 FM, C-Medias, Centre de Recherche Nouvelle Haiti. In the summer, on March 31, 2015, Daly Valet had announced his support for the "Pitit Dessalines" and had informed that he would endorse none other than the leader of the Platform Pitit Dessalines. The supporters of Pitit Dessalines are now more optimistic that Daly will bring fresh air for Moise Jean Charles and Moise should be taken more seriously by his opponents, because their unison will provide favorable momentum in a difficult campaign.

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After Jacky Lumarque and François Levelt another presidential candidate for the upcoming election in Haiti has been excluded from the race. This time, it is Mr, Jean Chevalier Sanon who has been excluded from the race for misrepresenting his nationality. According to the CEP, he is a Canadian citizen and has been holing a Canadian passport.

Investigation conducted by the CEP revealed that the candidate Jean Chevalier Sanon is in possession of a Canadian passport, number JK702380.

Mr. Jean Chevalier Sanon is in violation of section 135 of the Haiti Constitution, paragraph (1), 36 of the Electoral Decree, paragraph (a) which stipulates that to be elected president in Haiti, you must be a Haitian of origin and never renounce your nationality at the time of registration. As a consequence, his case will be transferred to the criminal criminal courts.

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After the elimination of 14 candidates running in the first round of parliamentary elections of August 9, we can now expect that these results will cause less violence, disorder and street demonstrations. Does that mean that the CEP is home free?

Not at all.

Now instead of expecting one group of of candidates not to be satisfied with the result, there are some who are in deeper trouble and likely will continue to be in trouble for a long time to come. The candidates who have been identified as trouble makers and consequently kicked out of the election process will have a high hill to clime. Not only they have been removed from the current election, they will likely not be allowed to participate in future competitions as well. Even more painful, they will likely be faced with possible prison term and fine.

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The has not been any official information yet regarding the result of the election that took place on August 9 except for one thing, the elections in Port-à-Piment has been cancelled due to irregularities in the vote count.

According to Mr. Jacceus Joseph who is an Adviser to Electoral Council, the decision to cancel vote count for the commune of Port-à-Piment legislative elections after observing irregularities at several voting centers. A make-up election will be announced shortly

What do you think?

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The after election casualties in Haiti is in its course now that the election day is over. The first victim is Joseph Hébert Lucien who has been accused by the CEP for abandoning his post in the CEP with some sensitive CEP materials. Namely, The president of the CEP, Pierre-Louis Opont, said that Joseph Hébert Lucien took with him a stock of "Mendates" which was supposed to be used for the election.

On the other hand, Joseph Hébert Lucien rejected the CEP accusation, stating that he gave his resignation last Saturday due to several threats received by some political parties. He was shocked to see the behavior of the President of the CEP who decide to use him as scape goat for the problem in organizing the election.

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What is wrong with this picture. First lady Sophia Martelly performing her civic duty by voting on August 9, 2015 in the election for Senators and Deputee with her husband, President Michel Martelly.

This election could have been even more important for first Lady Sophia Martelly. She was actually a candidate for the senatorial seat in the west but was disqualified for citizenship issue. Authorities at the CEP found that the first lady was not a Haitian citizen and as a consequence couldn't run as a candidate in this election.

I would think if you are a non-citizen, you couldn't run for a seat or vote in the election. Obviously, this is not the case in Haiti

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Violence at Petite Riviere Voting Center. We just learned that several bandits entered a voting center with gun on hand to disturb normal voting procedure in the locality of Blin. Police arrested one of the bandits.

For a step by step coverage of the "Haiti Election Day, August 9, 2015", please go to: http://www.haitiobserver.com/blog/haiti-election-day-august-9-2015-updated-by-the-minute.html

We are covering the event by the minute throughout the day. Keep refreshing the page as information is updated by the minute there.

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President Pierre Louis Opont of the Provisional Electoral Council, it is newly learned, manipulated the results of 2010's elections, subverting the will of Haitian voters. He openly admits to committing fraud at the ballot box when he held the position of Director General of The Electoral Council. His excuse for withholding the truth was to prevent the island from exploding into violence. Another reason for the non-disclosure of the actual election results was they were modified by international observers, i.e., former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her colleague, Cheryl Mills.

Although ex-First Lady Mirlande Manigat has called for Opont's resignation, candidates say they are reaping the rewards of Opont's exclusionary policy. His vague, hazy policy so states ". . . any candidate, at any time, can be removed from elections . . ." and ". . . exclusions could be made on unfounded information."

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The Presidential election in Haiti is shaping up and we are now able to have a view on the potential winners. The Office of Research in Computer Science and Economic and Social Development (BRIDES) just released the results of a national survey of voting intentions of the Haitian population for the upcoming election that shows Jude Célestin and Moïse Jean-Charles as leading candidates for the presidential seat.

While many candidates are very satisfied with the result of the recent poll conducted by BRIDES, many others had some strong reactions against it as well. at the presidential level, the polling showed that only 15 candidates obtain 1% or more of the vote.

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