Haitians flock to landmark polls

Haitians voted in overwhelming numbers in an election aimed at restoring democracy in the impoverished nation, swamping officials who struggled to cope with the large turnout.

“The people have voted massively,” said United Nations special envoy Juan Gabriel Valdes after the voting period was extended by almost four hours.

Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the Organisation of American States, said a majority of registered voters cast ballots, but specific figures were not yet available.

At dawn yesterday, when the 800 polling stations were supposed to open, it immediately became apparent the voting would not go smoothly. In the upmarket Petionville suburb of the capital Port-au-Prince, people in a crowd of thousands stormed a voting station. Several women fainted.

Across town, near the gang-controlled Cite Soleil slum, frustrated voters pounded on empty ballot boxes and chanted: “It’s time for Cite Soleil to vote!” The polls opened at the site hours later.

Government officials sought to maintain calm, assuring Haitians that everyone would have a chance to vote. By mid-afternoon, the process appeared more orderly. UN troops deployed in force to calm crowds.

Election authorities said the problems were largely limited to Port-au-Prince. By early afternoon, all polls across this country of 8.3 million were open, said UN spokesman David Wimhurst.

In the northern town of Gros Morne, a Haitian policeman shot dead a man in line at a polling station, Wimhurst said. A mob then killed the police officer. There were two other reported deaths in polling stations in the capital – two elderly men who collapsed while waiting in line.

The stakes in the election are huge – more than simply who will be president and who will occupy seats in parliament. Haiti, which has seen only one president complete his term in office, could implode if the elections go wrong, experts say.

In the aftermath of a February 2004 rebellion that toppled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, gangs have gone on a kidnapping spree and the country’s few factories are closing – causing thousands of redundancies – because of security problems and a lack of foreign investment.

American officials have warned that a collapse could trigger another wave of Haitians migrating aboard boats to the US. That occurred in 1994, prompting Washington to send troops to Haiti to restore Aristide to power, three years after he fell to a military coup.

Rene Preval, a 63-year-old former president backed by many poor Haitians, is the front-runner, according to pre-election opinion polls. Many supporters of Aristide, who was ousted for a second time in a bloody rebellion two years ago, back Preval.

Preval, in an interview with The Associated Press in his northern village of Marmelade, said the large turnout meant ”people are investing everything in this election”.

He said if he won, Haitians must recognise their country – the poorest in the Western Hemisphere – was in dire straits and should not set their expectations too high.

“We will not be able to do everything right away,” he said. “But we are determined to do our best and raise the standard of living for the people of Haiti.”

Besides Preval, other top contenders among the 33 presidential candidates are Charles Henri Baker, 50, whose family runs factories that assemble clothing for export, and Leslie Manigat, 75, who was president for five months in 1988 until the army ousted him.

Also running are a former rebel in the uprising that forced Aristide from office in February 2004 and a former army officer accused over the death of a Haitian journalist. If no candidate wins a majority, a March 19 run-off will be held between the top two candidates.