Inité retire la candidature de Jude Celestin

Nouvelliste - 26 Janvier 2011
Inité retire la candidature de Jude Celestin
Haïti: Le parti du pouvoir en Haïti, Inité, a annoncé mercredi avoir officiellement décidé de retirer la candidature de son candidat Jude Célestin à la présidence du pays, indique-t-il dans un communiqué

----------------------

Miami Heralds - Wed. Jan. 26

Haitian presidential candidate Jude Célestin resists pressure to withdraw

OAS report has suggested he should not be included in a runoff election

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES

PORT-AU-PRINCE -- Haitian presidential candidate Jude Célestin is resisting pressure from his own political coalition to withdraw his candidacy and break an electoral impasse.

``Jude doesn't agree,'' Joseph Lambert, head of the INITE (UNITY) coalition told The Miami Herald. ``We asked him to remove himself and he said, `I am not made that way. It is not part of my mental fabric.'''

A report by an Organization of American States team, which was formed after allegations of massive fraud in the Nov. 18 presidential election, suggests that a runoff election should be between former first lady Mirlande Manigat, who finished first, and singer Michel ``Sweet Micky'' Martelly, who finished third.

It arrived at its conclusion after reviewing 234 tally sheets out of more than 900 from the disputed elections. The report shows 50,000 votes had to be cast aside as either fraudulent or ``irregular'' votes.

Preliminary results released by the Haitian government had Manigat first and Celestin, the hand-picked candidate of President René Préval, second, with Martelly trailing by only several thousand votes.

Lambert said INITE ``in principle'' has agreed to ask Celestin to withdraw but is still wrestling with the matter.

Celestin, however, wants his day in court where his lawyers are working to prove that he does indeed have a right to advance into the runoff despite the OAS findings, said Lambert.

Celestin and his lawyer argue that the OAS report is flawed.

The report has been a point of contention between Haitian officials, who disagree with the results and methodology, and the United States.

Susan Rice, the top U.S. diplomat to the United Nations, last week warned Haiti that it could lose international assistance if it does not accept the OAS recommendations. But even the OAS has said that its recommendations are not results, but rather calculations, and they cannot be adopted until a phase for disputes is completed. Disputes are expected to be heard late Wednesday or Thursday.

Préval has personally held several meetings with coalition members to try and persuade Célestin to withdraw. But the candidate has not attended any of the meetings.

Meanwhile, Haiti is in a wait-and-see mode, and some have started to question what they perceive as ``big-foot'' diplomacy on the part of the United States.

``Everyone sees the hands of the international community in these elections,'' said a frustrated Lambert. ``They have law, but we don't' have laws? We are not a country anymore?''

He feels such efforts could trigger unrest. ``They are inviting catastrophe after the departure of René Préval. Everytime we have a president leave office we have catastrophe,'' he said. ``And the people are the victims. My objective is to have a constitutional government replace this government in a ceremony. All of my efforts are to ensure President Préval finishes the end of his mandate.''

-----------------------------------------------

Nouvelliste - 24 Janvier 2011
Le candidat du pouvoir envisage de se retirer du scrutin


Haïti: Le candidat du pouvoir à la présidentielle haïtienne Jude Célestin, accusé d'avoir bénéficié de fraudes au premier tour, pourrait "retirer sa candidature dans les prochaines heures", a déclaré mardi un haut responsable de son parti.

Selon les résultats préliminaires diffusés par le Conseil électoral, M. Célestin était arrivé en deuxième position lors du premier tour de l'élection du 28 novembre en recueillant 22% des suffrages derrière Mirlande Manigat (31%) et devant, pour quelques milliers de voix, Michel Martelly (21%).

Mais ces résultats ont été contestés par les partisans de M. Martelly, sur fond d'accusations de fraudes, et une mission d'experts internationaux qui a analysé le scrutin a récemment recommandé d'écarter du deuxième tour le candidat proche du président sortant René Préval, au profit de M. Martelly.

"Nous envisageons le retrait de la candidature de M. Célestin quels que soient le cas de figure et les résultats qui seront publiés par le Conseil électoral", a déclaré mardi le sénateur haïtien Joseph Lambert à Radio Métropole.

M. Lambert, qui est le coordonnateur national du parti présidentiel, a d'autre part indiqué que la formation politique INITE pourrait appuyer l'un ou l'autre des candidats admis au second tour.

"De toutes les façons, nous sortirons gagnants, car INITE va remporter les législatives et le prochain président devra cohabiter avec nous", a soutenu M. Lambert.