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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. [Full Story] HAITI'S FIRST ELECTED LEADER FORCED OUT FOR SECOND TIME Reports now indicate Jean-Bertrand Aristide is in exile in the Central African Republic, possibly with plans to seek asylum in South Africa. Yesterday, following his departure, supporters ruled the streets, decrying the change of power as a violent and illegitimate coup d'état. Today, the Chief Justice of Hait's Supreme Court has been sworn in, 500 US Marines have occupied the Presidential Palace, and Guy Philippe's rebel forces have entered the capital, Port-au-Prince. [Full Story] ARISTIDE RELINQUISHES POWER Haiti's first and only elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide has relinquished power in the midst of a violent uprising which has become the country's 33rd coup. He reportedly left the capital for the Dominican Republic, to fly on to another country. Observers now fear chaos and a brutal power struggle, as the forces arrayed against Aristide had included both political factions formerly loyal to Aristide, as well as paramilitary bands linked to the 1991 military coup and the notorious death squads of the early 90s. [Full Story] HAITIAN REBELS ALIGN WITH EXILED DICTATORS' ASSOCIATES As pressure increases for Aristide to resolve the crisis, demonstrators marched in Port-au-Prince on Sunday. Due to past military dictatorships, Haiti has no military, and only 3,500 to 5,000 police officers, limiting the government's ability to maintain security. Rebels attacked another town today, killing the police commissioner. New reports suggest the rebels occupying Gonaives have "aligned with exiled figures associated with a past coup attempt and Haiti's last military dictatorship", figures referred to by some as leaders of "notorious death squads". [Full Story] ARISTIDE UNDER ATTACK, APPARENTLY FOR POLICIES FAVORING MAJORITY POOR The nonpartisan, nonprofit Council on Hemispheric Affairs, after investigating events on the ground in Haiti, has released a memorandum citing "unfair and indecent diplomacy" as key to the ongoing political tension. The report notes systematic unwillingness by the well-financed opposition to enter a legitimate democratic process, and Washington's continued opposition to sending aid to the hemisphere's poorest country, as part of what appears to be a return to policies that restored the Duvalier dictatorship in 1991. [Full Story] ARISTIDE FACING HOSTILITIES IN PORT-AU-PRINCE Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the former Catholic priest and community activist who rose to power in opposition to the infamous Duvalier family dictatorship, is facing protests in the streets of the Haitian capital. The crowds chanted slogans calling for Aristide to "Go", but the President enjoys strong support in the rural areas, where as much as 80% of the population resides, and where his support is buoyed by allegiance from the nation's poor. Aristide was deposed in a violent coup by pro-Duvalier forces, shortly after beginning democratic reforms, but was then restored with American support during the 1990's. [Full Story] |
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