PRÉVAL DECLARED WINNER IN HAITIAN ELECTION
OFFICIALS SAY AFTER REMOVING UNMARKED BALLOTS FROM OVERALL VOTE COUNT, PRÉVAL FOUND TO HAVE 51.15% OF VOTES CAST
16 February 2006

René Préval will be the next president of Haiti. After a week of violent protests and allegations of "massive fraud", with the candidate calling for peace and responsibility from supporters and an investigation into manipulations, the government of interim president Boniface Alexandre has declared Préval the winner of the 7 February elections.

Allegations of fraud and manipulation had begun the morning of 7 February, as polls opened. Many polling stations either were not equipped or did not open, primarily in poor areas where voters were sympathetic to Préval's candidacy. Many angry supporters alleged it was a concerted effort by backers of Baker, a pro-business candidate, to silence the island's majority poor population.

Many polling places also ran out of ballots or had problems with voter identification and/or registration. Polls were ordered kept open late so such problems could be dealt with, voters permitted to cast ballots. Counting was subsequently uneven, showing a huge majority for Préval at first, then his edge slipping to under 50%, though no other candidate approached 15%.

Again, angry supporters took to the streets and violence ensued. The UN Security Council ordered the interim government to investigate allegations of widespread fraud and possible manipulation of the count by officials.

Protests flared up again and makeshift barricades were constructed around the capital as it was discovered that some ballots, possibly thousands, had been burned and tossed into garbage bins. UN vehicles carrying peacekeepers and election observers were reported to have broken through the blockades in an effort to end the seize of Port-au-Prince and see the vote-count through peacefully.

The Alexandre government said it would not publish final results until all inquiries were complete. This of course led to further allegations that there was involvement by election officials in manipulating the count, burning ballots or closing polling stations on election day.

Finally, according to reports from Port-au-Prince, the government opted to resolve the vote-count conflict by measuring Préval's percentage of support among ballots actually marked on election day. This meant that ballots showing no vote for any candidate would not be counted in competition with the ballots supporting any of the candidates. By this method, Préval emerged with at least 51.15% of the vote, and so has been declared the next president of Haiti. [s]

• BBC: "Préval Declared Haiti Poll Winner"