The following is cross-posted from CEPR's Haiti: Relief and Reconstruction Watch blog.
Early Friday morning, Haiti’s electoral authority posted
online the final list (PDF) of approved candidates for legislative
elections scheduled to be held in August. Over 2,000 candidates registered,
representing some 98 different political parties. The Provisional Electoral
Council (CEP) rejected 522 candidates – 76 for the Senate and 446 for the lower
house – leaving 1,515 candidates to compete for 138 open seats.
The CEP, in announcing the rejection of over one-quarter
of registered candidates, provided no rationale for individual cases. CEP
member Lucie Marie Carmelle Paul Austin told
Le Nouvelliste that the list is
final: “The CEP did its work in a completely equitable manner and in compliance
with the law.” She added that in many cases candidates were rejected because
they did not have proper paper work proving their Haitian nationality.
All the leading parties saw a significant number of
candidates rejected, with Martelly’s Pati
Hatien Tet Kale (PHTK) having the most rejected: 31. Still, PHTK had
registered the most candidates, and other parties had a higher percentage of
their candidates rejected, such as Platfòm
Pitit Dessalines and Renmen Ayiti.
After the CEP’s rejections, VERITE, the new party created by former president René
Préval and former prime minister Jean-Max Bellerive, has the most candidates in
the upcoming election, with 97 followed by PHTK with 94.
Although the CEP has said the decisions are final,
political parties have expressed their frustration with the lack of
transparency in the process. The coordinator of Fanmi Lavalas, Dr. Maryse
Narcisse, told the press that the party had requested an explanation from the
CEP, adding, “I think the right of all has to be respected and if there are
people who have been unfairly rejected, we will present ourselves to the CEP,
we will begin a legal process so that they do justice to those they unjustly
rejected,” according
to Haiti Libre.
After the publication of the list by the CEP on Friday, the
Haiti Press Network reported
that some candidates led protests against the decisions. Supporters of
German Fils Alexandre, a candidate for deputy in Petit Goâve under the VERITE
ticket, blocked National Highway #2, while in the Central department PHTK
Senate candidate Willot Joseph threatened to block elections from happening
unless the CEP decision was reversed.
The rejection of First Lady and PHTK Senate candidate
Sophia Martelly had already been announced, but with seven other candidates for
Senate rejected, PHTK can no longer field a candidate in every department. The
only political party that is fielding senate candidates in all 10 departments
is Fanmi Lavalas, which has been excluded from participating in past elections.
In response to the CEP’s decision, the PHTK party released a
statement “strongly challenging” the rejection of their candidates and
calling on supporters to remain calm.
Nevertheless, some of the rejections could hardly come as
a surprise. These included former Senator Rudolph Boulos, of the PHTK party. He
had previously been forced from his post after it was determined that he held a
U.S. passport, making him ineligible to hold office in Haiti.
While rejections made the headlines, some interesting
names did make the cut. Jacqueline Charles reports
for the Miami Herald:
Among those who will be vying
for one of those empty Senate seats is Guy Philippe, a former Haitian police
officer who led the 2004 coup that toppled former President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide. Over the years, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents have
tried — and failed — on at least three occasions to arrest Philippe, who has
been wanted in the United States since 2005. This will be Philippe’s third try
at elected office in Haiti.
The registration period for presidential elections is
ongoing.
UPDATE 5/26: On Sunday, May 24, the CEP released a list of candidates who had originally been rejected but have been reinstated. No rationale was provided. Overall, the CEP allowed an additional 47 candidates for the Senate to participate and 294 candidates for Deputy. There are now a total of 233 candidates for the Senate and 1,624 for Deputy. After the CEP's decision, VERITE still has more candidates than any other party, with 115. PHTK has 110. With the reinstatements, PHTK and Fanmi Lavalas had the highest percentage of their candidates rejected with 12% and 10.8%, respectively. This compares to an overall rejection percent of 8.9.
UPDATE 5/26: On Sunday, May 24, the CEP released a list of candidates who had originally been rejected but have been reinstated. No rationale was provided. Overall, the CEP allowed an additional 47 candidates for the Senate to participate and 294 candidates for Deputy. There are now a total of 233 candidates for the Senate and 1,624 for Deputy. After the CEP's decision, VERITE still has more candidates than any other party, with 115. PHTK has 110. With the reinstatements, PHTK and Fanmi Lavalas had the highest percentage of their candidates rejected with 12% and 10.8%, respectively. This compares to an overall rejection percent of 8.9.
1 comment:
It's breathtaking to me that the CEP doesn't have to give a reason for excluding candidates and does not do so. How does that foster confidence in the process?!
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