Election in Haiti: Interviews on the street

Denis, 22, unemployed: I don't know anyone who voted in the elections this week. What's the point? None of our candidates, from the Lavalas party, were allowed to register and we have already voted for our man, René Préval. What's the point of voting for a deputy or senator who isn't even from your party?

Charlotte, 61, preschool teacher: During the last election, they stuffed the ballot boxes with blank ballots and they threw our votes in the garbage piles. At the last minute, the CEP allowed candidates who weren't even on the ballot Feb. 7 to be added. Of course, these were not our candidates from Lavalas or Lespwa; they were the candidates of the RNDP, KID or Respé. This was illegal to put them on the ballot for a runoff election when they weren't even in the first election, but does the U.N. complain? No, of course not!

Jérôme, 19, high school student: I was not able to vote because I was not registered. I tried for a long time to register. I was sent to five different places, and I waited in line. They told me I had to have a birth certificate, so I got one. Then they said I needed a letter from my school before I could register to vote; but this was not true! I got the letter anyway, but it was never enough, and I never got my voter registration card.

Read More
http://www.sfbayview.com/042606/electioninhaiti042606.shtml