Several arrests mar Haiti’s second round of elections
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — Police say they have arrested more than 20 people during Sunday’s legislative and local government elections in Haiti.
Interim President Jocelrme Privert has called on Haitians to remain calm and await the outcome of the polls.
The results are not likely to be known for at least a week, but the Haitian National Police (PNH) said at least 49 incidents and 20 arrests were made on polling day.
The police said that the incidents ranged from the theft of ballot papers, destruction of ballots, possession of weapons, to the possession of false documents and attempted fraud.
President of the Provisional Electoral Council, (CEP), Léopold Berlanger, told a news conference that he was “generally satisfied with the conduct of the election day”.
But many candidates had complained of ballot papers being sent to the wrong polling centres noting that voters in the municipality of Hinche were unable to vote, having not found their names posted on some voters lists.
The executive director of the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), Pierre Espérance, said that there had been a lack of awareness and education campaigns ahead of the elections.
A total of 31, 000 candidates faced the electorate for positions in the Senate and local government bodies.
The CEP said there are 5,536 elected posts up for grabs. The last time Haiti held a local election was December 5, 2006.
The second round of balloting followed the November 20 presidential and legislative elections last November that resulted in the election of 48-year-old businessman Jovenel Moise as the new head of state to replace Michel Martelly, who left office in February 2016.
