2006 Haitian general election

none Haiti 2000 Haitian presidential election 2000 2010–11 Haitian general election 2010–11 7 February 2006 yes Presidential election presidential 3,533,430 59.26% ( 19.01pp) Rene Preval.jpg René Préval Lespwa 992,796 51.21% Picture of President Leslie Manigat.png Leslie Manigat Rally of Progressive National Democrats 240,306 12.40% Charles-Henri Baker Charlito Baker.png Respect (Haiti) 159,683 8.24% Jean Chavannes Jeune Jean Chavannes Jeune.png Christian National Union for the Reconstruction of Haiti 108,283 5.59% President Boniface Alexandre Independent politician René Préval Lespwa General elections were held in Haiti on 7 February 2006 to elect the replacements for the interim government of Gérard Latortue, which had been put in place after the 2004 Haiti rebellion. The elections were delayed four times, having originally been scheduled for October and November 2005. Voters elected a president, all 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies of Haiti and all 30 seats in the Senate of Haiti.Inter-Parliamentary Union, Haiti: Chambre des Députés (Chamber of Deputies) Voter turnout was around 60%. Run-off elections for the Chamber of Deputies of Haiti were held on 21 April, with around 28% turnout. According to official statistics, René Préval of the Lespwa coalition led the count for President with 48.8% of the vote, less than the 50% needed to be declared elected on the first round. Préval spoke of fraud, and voting bags and marked ballots found in a garbage dump triggered street protests by his supporters. The United Nations Mission in Haiti spoke of an "apparent grave breach of the electoral process". On 16 February, following meetings between the electoral council and the interim government, it was agreed that blank ballots would be excluded from the percentage calculations, resulting in a total vote for Preval of 51.1%. A second round of voting for president was thus avoided.http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/73964387-DD6D-41C7-B869-6C55CB55E5AE.htm Aljazeera.Net - Preval declared winner in Haiti polls 2006-02-16 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20060218051243/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/73964387-DD6D-41C7-B869-6C55CB55E5AE.htm 2006-02-18 Background thumb|right|240px|2006 Haitian elections The election process saw many controversies, including threats to boycott by one of the major political parties, ongoing political violence, and one candidate being declared ineligible despite a Supreme Court decision. The elections took place as Haiti was under the occupation of MINUSTAH, a multi-national U.N. force established by the Security Council which started operations in June 2004. On election day, due to many organizational problems, a shortage of election workers, missing ballots, and extremely long line-ups, the voting hours were extended by at least two hours.https://www.theguardian.com/worldlatest/story/0,,-5600485,00.html Latest news from around the world | the Guardian TheGuardian.com There are many reasons the Haitian elections were delayed. Due to a lack of funding, election officials were not able to meet the voter registration deadline set for early August. In addition there was considerable unrest in parts of Haiti, particularly the Port-au-Prince slums where there were attacks on the new government, and where the U.N. and the Haitian National Police have been accused of committing massacres and targeted killings of anti-occupation protesters and organizers. However, the inability to register voters in the time allocated was the primary reason for the extensions. There was also concern that only 800-900 voting stations would be placed throughout Haiti, in comparison to the many thousands of stations that existed during the previous election. On January 25, 2006, Haiti's election authorities announced that no voting stations would be placed in Cité Soleil, an impoverished area which holds between three and six hundred thousand residents and has been controlled by informal armies professing allegiance to Aristide; registered voters from Cité Soleil had to leave their neighborhood to vote.http://www.alterpresse.org/spip.php?article591&var_recherche=soleil%20election Delays Elections in Haiti were originally scheduled to take place starting on October 9, 2005 with the municipal election, followed by national elections on November 13, 2005, and a second round on December 18. In August the electoral council decided to move the municipal elections to an undetermined date in late December to allow for more focus to be placed on meeting the (new) November 6 date for presidential elections. On September 7 the dates were again changed, this time for the presidential elections. The first round of voting was moved back to November 20 and the second round on January 3, 2006. On November 18 the date for presidential and legislative elections were postponed for the third time; they were to take place on December 27, with a run-off to be held on January 31, 2006. On November 25, the date was set back yet again, making this the fourth time total; they were to take place on January 8 and February 15, 2006, respectively. The election is being postponed yet again but a date has not yet been announced, although February 7, 2006 is reported to be the likely date for the first round. The municipal elections which were originally set to be held on December 11, 2005, have been postponed to March 5, 2006. When announced officially, they will be the fifth set of election dates for a new government since July. Originally, the hand-over of power to the elected government was set for February 7, 2006, but this date has also been pushed back, without an official new date being given. The first round of elections for president and parliament was finally held on 7 February 2006. Runoff elections for Chamber of Deputies of Haiti were held on April 21. Presidential candidates Thirty five presidential candidates appeared in the ballot. Among the more known figures were René Préval, a former prime minister (1994–1995) and president (1996–2000), and a Lavalas member; Guy Philippe, a former police chief and rebel leader of the 2004 Haiti Rebellion. René Préval Préval is a former president of Haiti who served from 1996 to 2000. He is the second president of Haiti to leave office due to the natural expiration of his term. Préval was in exile during the latter years of the dictatorship of Jean-Claude Duvalier but returned to work in charitable organizations after Duvalier's fall. He served as Prime Minister under Aristide during his first term, until the military coup d'état that overthrew Aristide in 1991. In 1996 he was elected president under the Fanmi Lavalas party and served out his term ending in 2001. Under his previous administration Préval was a big reformer, most notably in the privatization of government companies, and will be expected to continue down a similar path if he is to be elected for a second term. His dealings with the International Monetary Fund have been controversial. The unemployment rate in Haiti was quite high under Préval's previous government, but it did fall down to some of its lowest levels since the fall of Duvalier at the end of his term and continued to fall until the rebellion of 2004. During his campaign, he sought to distance himself from any former association with the Lavalas party and ran as a candidate of Lespwa. Preval supports the current occupation of Haiti by U.N. forces, saying they "should stay as long as it is necessary", in contrast to Aristide and many members of Lavalas who denounce the U.N. forces and accuse them of carrying out a campaign of repression and violence at the behest of the U.S., France, and Canada. Preval has also sought the votes of Lavalas members on the promise that he will not oppose the return of Jean Bertrand Aristide from South Africa. Charles Henri Baker Charles-Henry Jean-Marie Baker (born June 3, 1955 in Port-au Prince) is a Haitian industrialist with US residency. He initially billed himself as an independent and has allied himself with the Komba de Chavannes Jean Baptiste and Evans Lescouflair party. His coalition received 8.24% of the vote. Baker is a former member of Groupe 184, a loose federation of business leaders, church officials and NGOs associated with the US federal government funded USAID and NED, opposed to the Jean-Bertrand Aristide government in 2004. Baker is widely considered the candidate of choice of Haiti's wealthy ruling class as well as the favoured candidate of the international business community. Leslie François Manigat Manigat received 12.40% of the vote in 2006. He was previously elected president in 1988 under a corrupt military run election after the fall of Jean-Claude Duvalier's dictatorship. He came to power in what was an extremely low turnout, and just a few months later Manigat's government was overthrown by General Henri Namphy. Manigat spent 23 years in exile during the reign of François Duvalier. In 1979 he formed a political party in Caracas with other exiled political opponents called the Rally of National Progressive Democrats. In 1987 the first attempt at a democratic election was unsuccessful as 34 people were killed. Elections were postponed until February 1988 and Manigat won with many political parties boycotting the polls. He had the backing of the military but once in office he sought greater control over the military in an effort, according to him, to crack down on corruption. Following the coup d'état by General Namphy, Manigat worked as guest scholar in Washington D.C., Paris, and Geneva.Alva James-Johnson Before realizing our hopes, it may be very costly for Haiti South Florida Sun-Sentinel January 3, 2004 http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/409.html December 18, 2005 Guy Philippe Philippe is best known for his role in the 2004 Haiti Rebellion which overthrew the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide due to, in part, allegations of election fraud in the 2000 parliamentary elections and other issues. Philippe's involvement can be traced back to 2000 when he was forced to flee to the Dominican Republic after taking part in a failed coup attempt against the first administration of Rene Preval. He had been a police chief in Cap-Haïtien when he was accused again of masterminding another coup attempt against the Aristide government in December 2001, which he denies any involvement in but proof would point otherwise. Throughout 2001-2004 Philippe is said to have worked the rebels that were running a "contra" war in the Plateau Central assassinating Lavalas officials and family members. When unrest/insurgency turned to rebellion in 2004, Philippe publicly announced that he was joining with coup forces and quickly took a leadership role, which he shared with co-leader Louis-Jodel Chamblain, who is considered a notorious war criminal by some. After Aristide was removed from the country in a US registered plane, Philippe and his army put down their guns in favor of the UN peacekeeping force. He has also been accused of drug dealing, and Aristide supporter group claim he is a covert CIA spy, recruited by an agent in Haiti to start the coup. It has been reported that he had secret meetings with opposition groups of Aristide in the Dominican Republic and also with a CIA agent. On July 11, 2005, Guy Philippe announced he would run for president for the Front for National Reconstruction (FRN) party. The FRN is also his guerilla group which was involved in the rebellion of 2004. Early in 2005 the FRN became recognized as a political party. Philippe has been critical of the administration of the interim government, blaming them for the slow process of setting up registration centers throughout the country. Early on he was considered a frontrunner in the race but later fell behind the main contenders. In the end in spite of his international and local rebellion backers, and in spite of appealing to young Haitians to follow him, Phillippe won less than 1% of the vote, demonstrating that he was no popular hero and was only the leader of a false, mercenary rebel group. Marc Bazin Bazin is a former Minister of Finance and Economy under the dictatorship of Jean-Claude Duvalier, and has also served as an official for the World Bank. In the 1990 elections Bazin received 14% of the votes, losing out to Jean-Bertrand Aristide. During the temporary coup d'état that replaced Aristide in 1991, Bazin was selected as the Prime Minister. Bazin is a conservative politician who has sought to bring foreign investment into Haiti. For the 2006 elections he is running in an alliance with his MIDH (Mouvement pour l'Instauration de la Démocratie en Haïti) party and the popular Fanmi Lavalas.Alfred de Montesquiou Gallup Poll Shows Preval in the Lead Haiti Democracy Project December 10, 2005 http://www.haitipolicy.org/content/3356.htm December 17, 2005 March 5, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060305033707/http://www.haitipolicy.org/content/3356.htm dead Bazin has been a bitter enemy of Aristide so it is somewhat surprising that this alliance has formed. There is evidence on the basis of Freedom of Information Act requests in the USA that the United States federal budget funded International Republican Institute (IRI) was involved in Bazin's campaign and has more generally been widely involved in organising political parties in Haiti.http://www.freehaiti.net/articles/2006/02/05/foias-reveal-iri-relationship-with-opl-and-marc-bazin FOIAs Reveal IRI working with OPL to facilitate the creation of an anti-Lavalas socialist coalition. FOIAs also reveal USAID $3m program with UNOPS to "even the playing field" www.freehaiti.net 15 January 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20060219234245/http://www.freehaiti.net/articles/2006/02/05/foias-reveal-iri-relationship-with-opl-and-marc-bazin 19 February 2006 dead Ineligible candidates Gérard Jean-Juste Jean-Juste is a Roman Catholic priest, Liberation theologian and supporter of the Fanmi Lavalas party in Port-au-Prince. He is well known for his close relations with former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Jean-Juste is well loved by many Haitians in urban slums for the liberation theology and the support for the poor and children that he has preached. His church feeds hundreds of homeless children every day and like Aristide he has promoted a government policy of social investment in the poor. Most recently, on July 21, 2005, he was arrested at a funeral by police in connection with the abduction and subsequent murder of journalist Jacques Roche. While Jean-Juste was at the funeral of Roche, he was assaulted by other attendees before being placed in protective custody by the police. Later he was charged with complicity and intellectual authorship of the murder. Jean-Juste was out of the country both at the time of Roche's abduction (July 10) and the discovery of his mutilated, bullet-riddled body (July 14). On July 28, 2005 Amnesty International named Jean-Juste a "prisoner of conscience".Haiti: Arbitrary arrest/prisoner of conscience: Gérard Jean-Juste (m), aged 59, Catholic priest Amnesty International July 25, 2005 http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR360082005?open&of=ENG-HTI December 17, 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20060212053524/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR360082005?open&of=ENG-HTI February 12, 2006 Father Jean-Juste remained in prison while his files were reviewed by judges. Formal charges were made against him based upon public outcry, a strange concept of French law. He was temporarily released for medical treatment in February 2006. In August officials of the Fanmi Lavalas party threatened to boycott the elections if Jean-Juste, and other alleged political prisoners, were not released. They believe the arrest is an effort to prevent Lavalas from once again winning in elections. In September, the party attempted to register Jean-Juste as a candidate for president, but they were denied. The provisional electoral council said that electoral law requires candidates to register in person. This situation has continued, whereas some hardline members of the party are still considering boycott, while only a few FL officials supported Marc Bazin; though the members of the general population who identify themselves as Lavalas supporters will likely vote for René Préval. On February 7, 2006, Jean-Juste formally endorsed Rene Preval.http://cbs4.com/local/local_story_037161543.html CBS 4 - South Florida's Source for Breaking News, Weather, and Sports: Jean-Juste Endorses Preval for Haiti Presidency cbs4.com 15 January 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20060304194346/http://cbs4.com/local/local_story_037161543.html 4 March 2006 dead Dumarsais Siméus Siméus is a wealthy businessman, owning Simeus Foods in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. Originally he is from Pont-Sondé in Haiti, where he grew up working the land for his poor rice-farming father. Eventually they moved to the USA so that Demarsais could go to college, and he eventually graduated from Howard University with an electrical engineering degree. Politically, Siméus developed extensive ties to the U.S. Bush administration, including serving on Jeb Bush's Haiti Task Force and making major donations to the Republican Party. His campaign manager, Robert Allyn, worked on the campaigns for George W. Bush. Simeus Foundation August 22, 2005 CEO seeks new job: the president of Haiti http://www.simeusfoundation.org/Press/PR-08-22-2005/pr-08-22-2005.htm December 26, 2005 July 7, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060707164629/http://www.simeusfoundation.org/Press/PR-08-22-2005/pr-08-22-2005.htm dead October 27, 2005 http://news.caribseek.com/Haiti/Haiti_Progres/article_22301.shtml With elections on, and now off: Siméus is in, out, in, out and in again Haiti Progres December 26, 2005 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20060828113908/http://news.caribseek.com/Haiti/Haiti_Progres/article_22301.shtml August 28, 2006 Siméus declared his intention to run for president of Haiti in September 2005 as the candidate for the Tet Ansanm party. There has been some controversy over whether or not Siméus is qualified to run for president. Under the 1987 constitution a presidential candidate must have lived in a real property that they own in Haiti for a period of five years prior to the date of election. Of course Siméus has not lived in Haiti for that length of time. The Supreme Court has ruled, now twice, that Siméus' name should be added to the ballot because he qualifies due to special circumstances, but the election officials have refused because he holds U.S. citizenship and the constitution forbids foreign nationals from running. Following the second ruling, the provisional government dismissed five justices, which many believe was done as punishment. One problem of getting Siméus on the ballot is that it would mean that elections would have to be delayed further than their scheduled January 8 date because the ballots have already been printed. Siméus responded critically to the dismissal of the justices, calling it a violation of the separation of powers. Siméus is a popular figure with many Haitians living in the United States and Canada because he is seen as an outsider who has not (yet) been infected with the corruption that insiders are already a part of. Indeed, this is a major part of Siméus' campaign as he says, "The politics of the last 200 years has failed. The status quo has created a cycle of poverty and violence, illiteracy and economic failure in Haiti, hurting our people, breaking our spirit, threatening the lives and futures of our brothers and sisters. In the past we have had politics of division hate, poverty and greed, politics that tear things down... now Haiti needs to make a change, heading in a new direction of unity, hope and prosperity."A Time for Change Dumarsais Siméus Campaign Website http://www.simeus06.com/ December 17, 2005 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20051218031247/http://www.simeus06.com/ December 18, 2005 Due to the issues with getting on the ballot, Siméus has not had the opportunity to develop a clear strategy in his campaign, but he has touched on issues of economic recovery, providing clean water, and better health care for all. Siméus is the only known candidate who used the internet to promote his candidacy, using a web blog operated at his official site. His company Simeus Food International formerly known as TLC Beatrice Food was bought by private US investment banks that sought to capitalize on the classification of the company as a minority-owned business, he does not own a majority stake in the company, nor does he run the daily operations, he is kept as an honorary chairman. He has publicly called for the executive members of the US installed Boniface-Latortue administration to be arrested for not letting him participate in the elections after the Haitian Court of Appeals has ruled that he was to be reinstated in the candidate roster. Gerard Latortue sidestepped the ruling by a decree that calls for a commission on nationality to meet the legal standards in the Haitian constitution that bans foreign or candidates with double nationality as is the case of Dumarsais Simeus and George Samir Mourra who are both US citizens by naturalization process. He did not support any of the running candidate since his political partner Gerard Gougues had dropped out of the race to support him, their party Tet-Ansam is a minority party in Haiti. Full list of presidential candidates Charles Henri Baker - Regwoupman Sitwayen Pou Espwa - RESPÈ Marc Bazin - Mouvement pour l'Instauration de la Démocracie en Haïti - MIDH Bonivert Claude - Parti Social Rénové - PSR Paul Denis - Organisation du Peuple en Lutte - OPL Hubert de Ronceray - Grand Front Centre Droit - GFCD Rigaud Duplan - Justice pour la Paix et le Développement National - JPDN Reynold Georges - Alliance pour la Libération et l’Avancement d’Haïti- ALAH Serge Gilles - Fusion des Sociaux-Démocrates Haïtienne - FUSION Gérard Gourgue - Mouvement Union Patriotique - MUP Chavannes Jeune - Union Nationale Chrétienne pour la Reconstruction d’Haïti - UNION Leslie Manigat - Rassemblement des Démocrats Nationaux Progressistes - RDNP Luc Mésadieu - Mouvement Chrétien pour une Nouvelle Haïti - MOCHRENHA Nicolas Evans - Union pour la Reconstruction Nationale - URN Evans Paul - Alyans Demokratik - ALYANS Guy Philippe - Front pour la Reconstruction Nationale - FRN René Préval - Fwon Lespwa - FL Himmler Rébu - Rassemblement pour l’Évolution d’Haïti - GREH Franck Romain - Parti Camp Patriotique et l'Alliance Haïtienne - PACAPALAH Dany Toussaint - Mouvement Démocratique et Réformiste Haïtien - MODEREH Opinion polls Two opinion polls were taken in November 2005. The first to be released was the poll taken by CID Gallup, a Latin American polling group with close ties to U.S. based Gallup. The second polling was taken by a political consulting firm, The Democracy Group, on behalf of the National Organization for the Advancement of Haitians, a group for the restoration of democracy in Haiti, of which Dumarsais Siméus is a member. CID-Gallup CandidatePartyVotes% René Préval Lespwa 384 32% Dumarsais Siméus Tet Ansanm 252 21% Leslie Manigat RDNP 60 5% Marc Bazin MIDH 48 4% Serge Gilles Fusion des Sociaux-démocrates 48 4% Evans Paul Democratic Alliance 48 4% Guy Philippe FRN 48 4% Charles Henri Baker Independent 24 2% Dany Toussaint MODEREH 24 2% Other -- 264 22%Totals   1,200 NOAH-TDG CandidatePartyVotes% Dumarsais Siméus Tet Ansanm -- 34% René Préval Lespwa -- 30% Charles-Henry Baker Independent -- 7% Marc Bazin MIDH -- 5% Evans Paul Democratic Alliance -- 5% Other -- -- 19%Totals   -- Results President René Préval Lespwa 992766 Leslie Manigat Rally of Progressive National Democrats 240306 Charles Henri Baker Respect 159683 Jean Chavannes Jeune Christian National Union for the Reconstruction of Haiti 108283 Luc Mesadieu Christian Movement for a New Haiti 64850 Serge Gilles Fusion of Haitian Social Democrats 50796 Paul Denis Struggling People's Organization 50751 Evans Paul Democratic Alliance Party 48232 #228B22 Guy Philippe National Reconstruction Front 37303 #0A247B Luc Fleurinord Independent Movement for National Reconciliation 36912 #FDC400 Joseph Hubert de Ronceray Broad Centre Right Front 18459 Marc Bazin Movement for the Establishment of Democracy in Haiti 13136 Rigaud Duplan Justice for Peace and National Development 9791 René Julien Democratic Action to Build Haiti 8608 Dany Toussaint Haitian Democratic and Reformist Movement 7905 Judie Joe C. Marie Roy Patriotic Regrouping for National Renewal 7889 Philippe Jean-Hérold Buteau National Reconstruction Movement 6543 Franck François Romain Patriotic Party and the Haitian Alliance 6524 Frantz Perpignan Christian Democratic Party of Haiti 6296 Gérard Gourgue Patriotic Union Movement 5852 Édouard Francisque Unity of the Haitian Progressive Nationalists 5518 Jean Marie Chérestal Pont 5490 Déjean Bélizaire National Patriotic Movement of 28 November 4478 Turneb J. Delpé National Democratic and Progressive Party 4466 Marc Antoine Destin Movement for the Advancement, Development and Democratic Innovation of Haiti 4210 Joël Borgella Haitian Organization for the Advancement of Haiti 4073 Nicolas Evans Union for National Reconstruction 4050 Himmler Rébu Grand Rally for the Evolution of Haiti 3774 Charles Poisset Romain Front Civic Politic Haitian 3622 Bonivert Claude Renovated Social Party 3442 Raoul Libéris Nationalist Movement Progressive Haitian 3270 Emmanuel Justima Democratic Action 3038 Yves Maret Saint-Louis Party for Haitian National Evolution 2969 Reynold Georges Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti 2942 Jean-Jacques Sylvain Party of Industrialists, Workers, Development Agents and Traders of Haiti 2414 155306 3533430 CEP, IFES91,219 blank votes were proportionally distributed to candidates.République d'Haiti / Republic of Haiti Political Database of the Americas Senate File:Élections Générales Haïti 2006 (sénateurs).svg Lespwa 768487 13 Rally of Progressive National Democrats 433438 1 Fusion of Haitian Social Democrats 400852 4 Fanmi Lavalas 330413 2 Struggling People's Organization 243047 3 Christian National Union for the Reconstruction of Haiti 174757 2 L'Artibonite in Action 110775 2 Democratic Alliance Party  247361 1 #228B22 Christian Movement for a New Haiti 199711 0 Mobilization for Haitian Progress 149282 0 #132244 Justice for Peace and National Development 134437 0 Tèt Ansanm 97050 0 National Reconstruction Front 94600 0 #0A247B Broad Centre Right Front 84327 0 Independent Movement for National Reconciliation 74895 1 #FDC400 Pont 45407 1 Other parties 465493 0 0 E-polityka, Conseil Électoral Provisoire Chamber of Deputies File:Élections Générales Haïti 2006 (députés).svg Lespwa 341542 21 Fusion of Haitian Social Democrats 163227 17 Struggling People's Organization 142318 9 Democratic Alliance Party  136148 12 #228B22 Rally of Progressive National Democrats 119731 4 Christian National Union for the Reconstruction of Haiti 112772 7 Fanmi Lavalas 77063 6 Mobilization for Haitian Progress 57407 4 #132244 L'Artibonite in Action 52618 5 Cooperative Action to Build Haiti 51176 3 #22A2C7 Tèt Ansanm 41686 1 Justice for Peace and National Development 40125 1 National Reconstruction Front 36828 2 #0A247B National Reconstruction Movement 36687 1 Independent Movement for National Reconciliation 35265 1 #FDC400 Christian Movement for a New Haiti 33970 2 Haitian Democratic and Reformist Movement 29327 1 Union of Nationalist and Progressive Haitians 9128 1 Other parties 257154 0 Vacant 1 3533430 IFES Allegations of vote manipulation Although Preval's vote count was initially over 60% of the total—in an election marred by declarations of invalid votes, allegations of fraud, errors and the discovery of perhaps thousands of ballots dumped and burned in Port-au-Prince—election officials of the interim government ordered a halt to the publication of full election results pending an inquiry into possible electoral fraud.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4713802.stm Haiti bars release of poll result 15 February 2006 As the provisional electoral council announced that Preval's vote count had slipped below the 50% required to avoid a second round of voting, thousands of his supporters marched through Port-au-Prince in protest at what they claimed was an effort to manipulate the vote count and suppress support for Preval. At least two of the nine electoral council members, Pierre Richard Duchemin and Patrick Fequiere, have also alleged that the vote tabulation was being manipulated.http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N13263370.htm Of the 2.2 million ballots cast, roughly 125,000 were declared invalid. A further 4% of the ballots were blank but were nonetheless added to the count, thereby lowering the percentage of the vote a candidate receives.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/14/ap/world/mainD8FP50IGA.shtml CBS News CBS News 2006-02-15 2006-02-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20060223030633/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/14/ap/world/mainD8FP50IGA.shtml dead During the protests, at least one man was killed and many others wounded during clashes between U.N. forces and Preval supporters. Witnesses claimed that Jordanian soldiers, who are serving as part of MINUSTAH, shot at the protesters. U.N. spokesman David Wimhurst at first denied that the U.N. soldiers had fired any shots, but then later said that the soldiers fired two "warning shots" into the air.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/13/world/main1311869_page2.shtml Haiti Election Results Spur Violence - CBS News CBS News 2006-02-15 2011-05-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20110523231720/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/13/world/main1311869_page2.shtml dead Talking publicly for the first time since the voting took place, Preval said "We are convinced there was massive fraud and gross errors that affected the process,". Soon after, many hundreds (possibly thousands) of charred ballots were found in a Port-au-Prince garbage dump.http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-02-15T040820Z_01_N14355245_RTRUKOC_0_UK-HAITI-ELECTION.xml&archived=False July 2021 medicmedic On February 14, 2006, the interim government ordered a halt to the publication of full election results pending an inquiry into the alleged electoral fraud. References External links Right Result, For the Wrong Reason, JURIST Haiti Category:Elections in Haiti General Category:Presidential elections in Haiti Category:Election and referendum articles with incomplete results Haiti Category:February 2006 elections