Deal gives Haiti vote to Preval
Ballot boxes found in dump near capital
From Tribune news services
Published February 16, 2006
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- An agreement was reached by Haiti's interim government and electoral council early Thursday to declare front-runner Rene Preval the winner of last week's presidential election, staving off a potential crisis in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country.
With 90 percent of ballots counted, Preval had been just shy of the 50 percent margin needed to win the Feb. 7 election outright and avoid a runoff next month. Under the agreement, some of the 85,000 blank votes that had been cast in the election were subtracted from the total count, giving Preval a majority, said Michel Brunache, chief of Cabinet for interim President Boniface Alexandre.
"We acknowledge the final decision of the electoral council and salute the election of Mr. Rene Preval as president of the Republic of Haiti," Prime Minister Gerard Latortue told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
The agreement, which Brunache said was signed by members of the electoral council and several government ministers, came during a late night meeting of government and election officials in the electoral council offices.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0602160210feb16,1,4481665.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hedSee also these threads:
From Rose Siding:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2112285AND from seafan:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2109729These articles give the background of the election fraud and the people's protest!:bounce::bounce::bounce: