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1000s protest against alleged election fraud in Haiti

Thursday, 17 December 2015 5:17 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 17 December 2015 6:42 PM ]

Haitian demonstrators hold protest rally in Port-au-Prince on December 16, 2015. ©AFP

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince to voice their anger at alleged vote rigging in the country’s recent presidential election.

The massive rally, which was held on Thursday, turned violent as sporadic clashes erupted between police and groups of protesters, who had taken to the streets ahead of the run-off election scheduled for December 27.

Police fired tear gas when some among the estimated 2,000-3,000 marchers pelted the security forces and UN peacekeepers with stones.

The angry demonstrators blamed President Michel Martelly’s party for tampering ballots in favor of government-backed candidate Jovenel Moise.

Former head of Haiti’s state construction company, Jude Celestin, and Moise will face each other in the late December run-off vote.

According to international observers, the October 25 election was held in a peaceful fashion and relatively smoothly.

However, Celestin's opposition alliance and some other political factions have been calling for an independent review of October elections for weeks. The opposition groups allege that a number of ballots have gone missing.

Eight presidential candidates in the 54-candidate vote condemned extensive fraud in the voting in a move that sparked street protests in the impoverished Caribbean country. The country has been the scene of almost daily rival rallies over the past few months.

Soldiers of United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) take cover behind Haitian Police as demonstrators march in Port-au-Prince on December 16, 2015. ©AFP

Meanwhile, Haiti’s Prime Minister Evans Paul has suggested a special commission should be created to review contested elections. The premier has said that the body should have three days to produce its recommendations to the government and Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council.

In a Twitter message posted early Thursday, Paul said he has advised President Martelly to “ensure the credibility of the process,” stressing that “credible, transparent and inclusive” elections are a must.

The October poll comes almost five years after Martelly took office in the poorest country in the Americas, which got rid of the 30-year Duvalier dictatorship in 1986 but has not been able to find democratic stability since then.

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