Electoral Fraud in Haiti

Via the Miami Herald:  U.S. observers: Haiti’s presidential elections deeply flawed.

A team of U.S.-based lawyers who witnessed last month’s Haitian elections say there is mounting evidence showing a clear pattern of systemic fraud, voter confusion and intimidation, and in some areas disenfranchisement.

The report paints a grim picture of a flawed, chaotic electoral process on Oct. 25. Not only were voting procedures inconsistently applied at poorly designed polling stations, the report notes, but the widespread use of observer and political party accreditation led to people voting multiple times and potentially accounts for as much as 60 percent of the 1.5 million votes cast.

As such, the Herald headline understates matter more than a tad, although in fairness an earlier story was entitled “Haitian observers: ‘Massive fraud’ in vote.”
Meanwhile, via the BBC:  Haiti election results trigger violent protests.

Violent protests have erupted in Haiti after the electoral council announced the official results of the first round of last month’s presidential election.

Jovenel Moise, who has the backing of current President Michel Martelly, came first with 33% of the vote and Jude Celestin came second with 25%.

As neither won a majority, a run-off will be held on 27 December.

The announcement triggered protests by supporters of another candidate, Moise Jean-Charles.

His supporters took to the streets of Cabaret, a town in western Haiti, while protests also erupted in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where two police officers were injured.

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Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. In other news, water is wet.

  2. Just 'nutha ig'rant cracker says:

    Unless literally every party was involved with election fraud, I’m having difficulty understanding how the two top candidates have only 58% of the vote between them. Are they unskilled relative to, say, the vote riggers of Iran?