By Stephen Kaufman
Washington — The Obama administration says initial assessments of Haiti’s second round of presidential and parliamentary elections suggest that the March 20 vote was largely peaceful and free from some of the irregularities that occurred during the first round.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said March 21 that the vote was “largely peaceful and conducted without significant report of any wrongdoing.”
Toner said the United States will wait until its gets the full assessment from election monitors before concluding whether the vote was “free and fair,” but said it appears that the second round “took into consideration some of the lessons learned” from the first round that was held November 28, 2010, and was marked by violent demonstrations after charges of irregularities and vote rigging by Haiti’s ruling party.
“While there were limited problems with voting supplies in a number of polling stations, most of them appear to have been corrected in a timely fashion, and hours extended at those locations to accommodate all voters,” Toner said.
The presidential contest pitted popular singer Michel Martelly against former first lady Mirlande Manigat. Preliminary results are expected to be released March 31, and a final tally is due on April 16.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Port-Au-Prince, more than 40 embassy staff members helped to monitor the vote at polling places around the country. The Obama administration provided $16 million to support the electoral process, including funding to supply voting materials, Haitian and international election observers, candidate debates and voter information campaigns.
Voters used an SMS texting system and call center supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to find their polling places.
Embassy spokesman Jon Piechowski told the Los Angeles Times March 22 that it had been “a much smoother election day” than in the first round.
“The Haitian voters arrived at the voting centers much better prepared,” he said.
In a March 21 statement, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) congratulated the Haitian people “for the patriotic spirit, calm and discipline which they have shown” during the second round of voting.
“The evident enthusiasm of the electorate is clear evidence of the importance Haitians attach to democracy,” it said. MINUSTAH praised the efforts of election authorities to make the runoff credible and allow the popular will to be expressed.
MINUSTAH also urged all candidates and their supporters to “show patience and restraint” as they wait for results to be released, thereby “giving an example of democracy, since it is the future of the country that is at stake.”
