08 December 2010
U.S. Urges Calm as Haitian Election Results Are Reviewed
Washington — The Obama administration is calling for calm in Haiti as irregularities and complaints stemming from the country’s November 28 presidential election are reviewed, and says the United States is determined to help Haiti achieve credible election results.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said December 8 that the United States and others in the international community “stand ready to support efforts to thoroughly review irregularities so that the final electoral results are consistent with the will of the Haitian people.”
Demonstrations broke out December 7 after Haiti’s provisional election council announced the preliminary results of the November 28 contest.
The council said that former Haitian first lady Mirlande Manigat won 31 percent of the vote and Jude Célestin, a member of Haiti’s ruling party, won 22 percent. The council’s results gave popular music star Michel Martelly a close third-place finish at 21 percent, or 6,800 votes behind Célestin. A third-place finish would eliminate Martelly from participating in the January 16, 2011, runoff election.
Crowley said U.S. officials are concerned by the provisional election council’s preliminary results, saying they are “inconsistent with the published results of the National Election Observation Council, or CNO, which had more than 5,500 observers and observed the count in 1,600 voting centers nationwide.”
He urged “all political actors and their supporters to remain calm and to work peacefully” as Haiti reviews the electoral process and investigates complaints of irregularities.
Crowley said the United States is determined to help Haiti achieve a credible and legitimate election result that reflects the will of the Haitian people.
In a December 8 statement on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, the United States also urged Haitian political leaders and their supporters to engage in peaceful expression and to work through their country’s process for contesting elections to address concerns.
“The 2010 elections represent a critical test of whether the Haitian people will determine their destiny through their vote, and it would be regrettable that violence would mar this process,” the embassy statement said.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
