Haiti Election 2006
2006; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 33; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1177/0094582x06288058
ISSN1552-678X
Autores Tópico(s)Caribbean and African Literature and Culture
ResumoOn February 7, 2006, Haitians went to the polls and, despite many tech nical and other logistical difficulties, reelected Ren? Preval president. Preval was first elected in 1996 and transferred power to Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2001 after the latter had won reelection in November 2000. ' Aristide was overthrown by former members of the defunct Haitian Army in February 2004, cutting short his second five-year mandate. He was replaced by an interim government led by G?rard Latortue as prime minis ter and Boniface Alexandre as president in March 2004 with the full back ing of the United States, Canada, and France. Originally scheduled for November 2005, the presidential election was postponed four times before being finally held on February 7, 2006. Pr?val's reelection represents a major victory for what could be called the popular sector and a major defeat for those Haitian eliteand foreign backed forces that coalesced in the Democratic Convergence and the Group of 184 to oppose and, with the help of the former army rebels, ultimately over throw Aristide. These forces had hoped that with Aristide gone one of their own could win the presidency. Out of a field of 33 candidates for the presi dency, the 8 candidates from the coalitions and the 2 from the former army rebel forces that toppled Aristide received a combined 32.4 percent of the approximately 2.2 million votes cast. Pr?val received 51.21 percent, thus clinching his victory in the first round. Voter turnout was estimated at around 63 percent (Haiti/Conseil Electoral Provisoire, 2006).2 The election also represented a defeat for the interim government. Its main objective was to pacify the country and prepare for new presidential and parliamentary elections, and this basically meant cracking down on Aristide supporters, especially but not exclusively the armed gangs known as chimes in the L?valas strongholds in the ghettos of Port-au-Prince, and preparing for new elections that might bring to power a government that would respect the rules of the political game dictated by the major capitalist
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