Haiti closes polls amid accusations of fraud
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Haiti closed polling stations at 4:00 p.m. local time (2100 GMT) on Sunday amid accusations of ballot stuffing and other irregularities by opposition candidates, who also called for suspension of the process.
In the afternoon, protests were seen staged in the streets which included Wyclef Jean, a Haitian born musician who became an international star, and Michel Martelly, who was running third place in the nation's presidential elections.
The celebrities joined Haitians who took to the streets after a group of 12 opposition candidates, including front-runner Mirlande Manigat, accused the ruling party of trying to steal the election.
The nation's 1,500 polling stations closed at 4:00 p.m. local time (2100 GMT) after opening in the morning.
The election, with 4.7 million on the electoral roll, chooses a new president to replace Rene Preval, 11 senators and 99 deputies. Preliminary results are due in early December and the full count will be published in two weeks.
Eyewitnesses reported a good turnout even though Haiti is still reeling from a January earthquake in which more than 200,000 citizens died and an October cholera outbreak that has killed more than 1,500 so far.
Observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) are watching the elections, and local media began reporting low-key disputes from right at the beginning of the vote. Citizens reported their names missing from some electoral records in some polling stations, while at others voting papers arrived late.
The most serious allegation came after midday when 12 candidates alleged that ballot boxes had arrived to some polling stations already full and that officials had prevented opposition supporters from entering voting facilities.
During a press conference, Manigat alleged that 500,000 extra votes had been printed and 500 extra polling stations opened, all with the intention of stealing the vote for Jude Celestine, the candidate from ruling party Inite.
Edmund Mulet, who leads the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (Minustah), contradicted Manigat's statements, describing the process as suffering only minor problems.
Polls published in Haitian newspapers reported Manigat leading voting intentions with 30.3 percent, followed by Celestine, with 21 percent and Martelly with 10.8 percent. The other 15 candidates had little chance of winning. Haiti's president serves a five-year term, but no individual can serve two consecutive terms.
Celestine responded to allegations of fraud by claiming that the nation's opposition seeks to create riots and take advantage. He called on his own supporters to remain calm.
Gaillot Dorsinvil, head of Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (PEC), said at a press conference that the PEC would not cancel the election.
At the same press conference, PEC Director General Pierre Louis Opont said that none had prevented any registered voters from exercising their rights, arguing that some people had had the wrong information about which polling station they should go to and had been refused access because their names were not on the list.
Current president Rene Preval told media in Port-au-Prince that the elections were going well, and called on all Haitians to keep peace. Speaking immediately after casting his vote at a Port-au-Prince high school, he said that he expected the presidential race to go to second round.
Local radio reported the death of one person in northern Haiti city Artibonite. More casualties were reported.
Separetly, mayor of Desdunes Wesner Archelus told media that a polling station was attacked and looted in his city. Gunshots were fired and a ruling party official was briefly held hostage. Minustah sent a dozen vehicles to the scene.
