International: A singer at the head of Haiti?

According to a source within the electoral commission interviewed by Reuters, singer Michel Martelly is the likely winner of the Haitian presidential election. The preliminary results of the runoff election between Martelly and candidate Mirlande Manigat will be officially released shortly today. Polls indicate that the 50-year-old artist is the most popular candidate among Haitians.

Nicknamed "Têt Kalé," meaning "shaved head" in Creole, he initially came in third in the first round in December, after René Préval, Judes Célestin, and Mirlande Manigat. After a week of vehement street protests and allegations of fraud, René Préval's party decided to withdraw Célestin's candidacy. Several hundred tally sheets sent from various polling stations were invalidated. Meanwhile, the Provisional Electoral Council decided to reinstate the artist Michel Martelly in the race.

A call for calm was issued by the Secretary of State for Public Safety, Aramick Louis, urging people "not to demonstrate violently in the streets" regardless of the outcome, which was expected to be announced at 5 p.m. (6 p.m. in Quebec). Fearing further reprisals, armored vehicles from MINUSTAH (the UN peacekeeping force) were deployed in the streets alongside local police vehicles.

Aristide's failed attempt

A few days before the major consultation, former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, back in the country, remained popular with the disadvantaged despite having been ousted from power by an armed insurrection seven years earlier.

Two months earlier, it was the turn of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier to attempt a return after 25 years of exile in France. He is still accused by the Haitian justice system of corruption and embezzlement, not to mention several complaints filed against him for crimes against humanity.

Source: www.ledevoir.com