Haiti Presidential & Legislative Elections: First Round Vote ‘Stained by Irregularities’

An investigation committee probed the disputed presidential and legislative elections in Haiti in October, found to be 'stained by irregularities' as reported on Sunday. However, a second-run off is scheduled to take place on Jan. 17 to choose the right president for the country.

According to The Washington Post, the Oct. 25 race was composed of 54 participants, but was interrupted by poll watchers as they tried to help some of the nominees. Names of the assisted participants were not disclosed.

Also, watchmen will possibly face legal action, along with everyone who was included in the mishap. The incident is also a wakeup call for the country to create a new and improved kind of election that has transparency.

Regarding the controversy over the recent election, it was said that "clearly that the electoral institution no longer enjoys the credibility that permits it to continue with the process without the danger of sinking the country into a still-more-serious crisis."

Nevertheless, it didn't imply that the trouble was that serious to have an impact in the result of the October electoral process or to suspend the coming runoff. Opposition parties questioned the election's outcome as Moise Jovenel was leading with 33% of the vote, while Jude Celestin had 25% next to him.

The two are going to face each other in the second run of the poll. It was said that the runoff was originally set in December because of the debates, which led to a number of rallies.

The government also asked the council to observe the electoral process and apply the recommended changes for a better election. Allegedly, the opposition broadened the deception of the presidential and legislative vote in October, BBC News reported.

Meanwhile, the next president will face a number of ominous duties after taking the seat of Michel Martelly in February. Furthermore, Yahoo News added that protesters took their complaints to the streets, which quickly turned violent due to the level of anger over the corruption and fraud.

The 53-year-old presidential candidate Celestin refuses to do his campaign unless there will be an 'independent electoral commission' ready. The autonomous committee had a conversation with the CEP board and said that about 60 percent of vote watchers were incapable of doing their task effectively.

"There were also votes crossed out, as well as math or tallying problems," they said. In fact, further problems seen when the voters ID were inspected as "votes were not cast by some voters even though they were eligible to do so," the report added.

Watch the Haiti election result by TV Image.