HAITI: POLITICS - Presidential candidates swing into campaign mode ahead of November election

Record ID: 345436

  • Title: HAITI: POLITICS - Presidential candidates swing into campaign mode ahead of November election
  • Date: 30th September 2010
  • Summary: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF POSTERS FOR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN NOVEMBER 2010 ELECTION BUSINESSMAN AND OPPOSITION CANDIDATE CHARLES HENRI BAKER IN INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) BUSINESSMAN AND OPPOSITION CANDIDATE CHARLES HENRI BAKER SAYING: "We don't believe in the CEP. The CEP is not a credible institution. And therefore, we are getting ready to go to elections, and we have been for the past five years getting ready to go to the elections with a CEP that we know is going to try to steal the elections for the government in place." VARIOUS OF BAKER INSIDE FACTORY (SOUNDBITE) (English) BAKER SAYING: "If we don't go to elections, there are enough small parties that the government has put in place to give us our next president. And who is going to lose out? It's the Haitian people and Haiti. We have the capacity in our party to take over the government and to move the country forward." PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JEAN-HENRY CEANT AT HIS DESK (SOUNDBITE) (Creole) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, JEAN-HENRY CEANT, SAYING: "This is President Rene Preval's tactic - to keep the people in these conditions and under tents so that when the day of the election comes, he will set up voting booths within the camps and pay people to vote. But he forgot one thing - that the Haitian people are not stupid. The Haitian people today recognize their situation and known that these conditions are not the better conditions for humans to live in. I believe that the people in the camps are now in revolt and will not play the game of Rene Preval. Certainly I will talk to them and ask them to stand up for their rights because where they've put them is not what they deserve." CEANT LEAVING HIS OFFICE VARIOUS OF TENT CAMP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DR. GERARD BLOT IN INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (Creole) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, DR. GERARD BLOT, SAYING: "To motivate the people to go out and vote is easy. We will make them understand that they've been in the streets for nine months. Nothing serious has been done for them to find a decent place for them to live. For example, last week, in only ten minutes, the wind took away tents, metal sheets and even cost lives. And listening to President Preval speak, it's about two-by-four wood, metal sheets and nails to build temporary homes for people. No, for us, it is to build a new country." VARIOUS OF SHELTER BEING BUILT VARIOUS OF EDMUND MULET, HEAD OF THE UN STABILIZATION MISSION IN HAITI, IN INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) EDMUND MULET, HEAD OF THE UN STABILIZATION MISSION IN HAITI, SAYING: "The international community wants to have a legitimate government in place, in order to have mid-term, long-term plans, development plans, investment plans, for the country - capacity-building, etc, local business community people. I mean everything comes to a standstill until there is a legitimate government." MULET IN INTERVIEW
  • Embargoed: 15th October 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Haiti
  • Country: Haiti
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2HBMSC6WZ8ECIW2FD1Q4NI396
  • Story Text: Haiti's presidential candidates swung into campaign mode this week, launching their official campaigns as the country prepares for a November 28 election to replace outgoing leader, Rene Preval.
    The eventual victor will face the gargantuan task of rebuilding Port-au-Prince which was largely devastated in a January 12 earthquake.
    Many of the 19 presidential candidates came out swinging, with harsh words for the outgoing government of Rene Preval.
    Businessman Charles Henri Baker is one of the frontrunners and considered an opposition leader. He mounted an unsuccessful campaign against Preval in 2006, and said he is unsure of his chances this time around due to his skepticism of the country's electoral council.
    "We don't believe in the CEP. The CEP is not a credible institution. And therefore, we are getting ready to go to elections, and we have been for the past five years getting ready to go to the elections with a CEP that we know is going to try to steal the elections for the government in place," he said.
    Despite his concerns, Baker said he was pursuing another costly campaign in an effort to head off a government-led coalition.
    "If we don't go to elections, there are enough small parties that the government has put in place to give us our next president. And who is going to lose out? It's the Haitian people and Haiti. We have the capacity in our party to take over the government and to move the country forward," he said.
    Meanwhile, attorney Jean-Henry Ceant, another leading candidate, attacked Preval's leadership following the earthquake. He said he plans to appeal to the thousands of Haitians still living in tent camps and convince them that he can improve their situation.
    "The Haitian people today recognize their situation and known that these conditions are not the better conditions for humans to live in. I believe that the people in the camps are now in revolt and will not play the game of Rene Preval. Certainly I will talk to them and ask them to stand up for their rights because where they've put them is not what they deserve," he said.
    Dr. Gerard Blot is also in the race. He was one of just four candidates to attend the country's second-ever presidential debate on Saturday, where he asked for a minute of silence for quake victims. He believes Preval hasn't done enough to improve the lives of Haitians since the quake and referenced a brief storm last week that killed five people.
    "We will make them understand that they've been in the streets for nine months. Nothing serious has been done for them to find a decent place for them to live. For example, last week, in only ten minutes, the wind took away tents, metal sheets and even cost lives. And listening to President Preval speak, it's about two-by-four wood, metal sheets and nails to build temporary homes for people. No, for us, it is to build a new country," he said.
    Last month, the CEP approved 19 candidates and rejected 15, including hip-hop star Wyclef Jean, saying he did not meet a residency requirement.
    Among those approved to run for the presidency were: Jacques Edouard Alexis, a two-time prime minister; Leslie Voltaire, a U.S.-educated urban planner and former minister; Yvon Neptune, another former prime minister who served under former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide; Mirlande Manigat, a well-known opposition leader and former first lady; -Jude Celestin, the former head of the government's road-building outfit and Yves Cristallin, who served as social affairs minister .
    In 2006, clashes broke in the days following the election as the CEP delayed issuing results, leaving many Haitians to levy charges of corruption.
    In light of the country's unsteady politics, the head of the United Nations stabilization mission, Edmund Mulet, said a transparent and clean election is crucial this time around.
    "The international community wants to have a legitimate government in place, in order to have mid-term, long-term plans, development plans, investment plans, for the country - capacity-building, etc, local business community people. I mean everything comes to a standstill until there is a legitimate government," he said.
    Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, is struggling to recover from the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake that killed up to 300,000 people.
    The World Bank said recently the task of rebuilding Haiti was similar to the one faced by Europe after World War Two.
    More than a million people have been left homeless by one of the world's worst ever disasters.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register