Election protesters rampage through Port-au-Prince

THOUSANDS of protesters rampaged through the streets of Haiti’s capital yesterday to contest election results, and they torched the headquarters of the ruling government coalition they accused of rigging the results, witnesses said.

Port-au-Prince descended into chaos as supporters of popular musician and presidential candidate Michel Martelly, who failed to qualify for an election run-off in results announced by Haitian electoral authorities, set up burning barricades of timber, boulders and flaming tires.

Preliminary results from the turbulent November 28 elections showed former first lady Mirlande Manigat and outgoing president Rene Preval protege Jude Celestin both in the January run-off, with Martelly narrowly in third place and so excluded.