Haitian President sets election date

Haitian President Rene Preval set November 28 as the date voters will choose his successor as leader of the earthquake-shattered Caribbean nation.

The much-anticipated decree setting the election date was signed beside Port-au-Prince's collapsed national palace, bearing the signatures of the president, prime minister and Cabinet.

Voters will also choose MPs for Haiti's now mostly vacant parliament.

The date itself is not a surprise: Haiti's current constitution mandates elections be held on the last Sunday of November in the fifth year of the president's term.

But opponents had expressed concern that Preval was dragging his feet on holding the election, especially after he signed a decree extending his term by three months if voting was not held on time.