WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Wednesday expressed regret over a decision by Haitian authorities to cancel an ongoing presidential election and schedule a re-run for later this year.

Washington is a major aid donor to Haiti’s weak economy but has often been accused by local activists of picking sides in the impoverished Caribbean nation’s chaotic electoral politics.

US officials insist they are not pulling for one side or another, but are concerned that the cost and tensions of a drawn-out process could destabilise the already fragile nation.

“The Haitian people deserve to have their voices heard, not deferred,” declared State Department spokesman Mark Toner, arguing that the result of an October 25 first round vote should stand.

The conduct of last year’s long-delayed poll was widely disputed by the opposition, who condemned the vote as an “electoral coup” in favor of the party of then-president Michel Martelly.

Martelly’s hand-picked candidate Jovenel Moise won with 32.76 per cent of the vote against Jude Celestin’s 25.29 per cent — and a run-off was initially scheduled for December 27.

But violent street protests erupted and Celestin threatened to boycott the second round, insisting Martelly’s supporters had rigged the first and were ready to steal the election.

In an attempt to end the crisis an independent committee studied the contested poll returns and concluded that it could not trace the origin of 40 per cent of the ballots.

On Monday, Haiti’s presidential election decided that the first round should be fought all over again on October 9, and the two frontrunners should face a run-off on January 8, 2017.

This caused dismay in Washington, which had been pushing for Haiti to move quickly to a run-off to end the crisis by electing a new president.

Asked whether it was more important that the election be quick or be credible, Toner said: “I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive.

“Taking this back to zero or the starting line, it’s just going to add to the length of the process, and there needs to be leadership installed there.”