An international team stands ready to verify Haiti’s disputed presidential elections but is waiting for the Haitian government to lay down terms for the mission, the OAS bloc said yesterday.
“The terms of reference have not been completed yet,” Albert Ramdin, assistant secretary general of the Organization of American States, said. “As long as the terms have not been agreed upon we will not send experts.
“I hope this mission can go as soon as possible. I believe it should be this week, time is running out,” Mr Ramdin added.
Preliminary results of the November 28 poll published earlier this month had former first lady Mirlande Manigat in the lead with 31 per cent of the vote, followed by ruling party candidate Jude Celestin with 22 per cent.
If those results hold, the two should advance to a run-off scheduled for January 16, but the count was rejected by popular singer Michel Martelly, who trailed Celestin in third by less than 7,000 votes.
Mr Martelly’s supporters and others took to the streets after the results were announced, torching cars and government buildings and clashing with rival supporters and UN peacekeepers in violence that killed at least five people.
Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) said after the post-election unrest that it would recount the tally sheets.
President Rene Preval, who stands accused of rigging the elections in favour of Celestin, has delayed the announcement of final results until after the OAS has completed its mission.
“The OAS team will have to verify the recount of the tally sheets by the CEP. Out of that process, recommendations will be made – whether (or not) the results reflect the count,” said Mr Ramdin.
The OAS has an international team of six people ready to go: two legal experts, two electoral experts, a statistician and an IT specialist.
Mr Ramdin said the make-up of the team could change depending on the final scope of the mission and timing but that this was the “minimum” amount of personnel the OAS considered necessary.
“The technical experts in my view would have full access to facilities,” Mr Ramdin said. “They have to be able to do their work in full transparency. That is what I hope they will be granted.”
Last month’s chaotic first round was carried out amid widespread allegations of fraud and the disenfranchisement of thousands of people, who either could not get the necessary papers to vote or were not on the register.
The vote further destabilised the poor Caribbean nation, which is still struggling to recover from an earthquake in January that killed a quarter of a million people and has been battling a cholera outbreak since October as well.