Port au vote
Haiti election observer recounts his mission toward third world democracy
Erin Stewart
You wouldn’t ask a fashion consultant to design the plumbing in your house; you’d ask a plumber. Thus, when inquiring about the recent democratic elections in Haiti, who better to consult than someone who was actually there?
The elections, which were delayed four times, were intended to replace the interim government that has been in power since the removal of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004. The victor would require an absolute majority to avoid a run-off. Given Haiti’s less than democratic tradition, a run-off election would no doubt complicate things further.
Pierre Joanis, a sessional instructor for the French, Spanish and Italian department of the University of Manitoba, was part of the Mission internationale d’évaluation des élections en Haiti (MIEEH). The Canadian delegation, comprised of 104 volunteers, travelled to Haiti on February 3 to observe the highly anticipated elections.
Joanis noted that the briefing prior to the mission shocked many members of the team — at least one person withdrew due to fear of kidnappings.
“There were some risks, and we were made plainly aware of them. But I was impressed by the level of care and diligence for our safety,” he said.
During the election, Joanis visited five polling centres and became acquainted with local polling authorities as well as other international observers. He stressed that he cannot speak for the mission, and he has only a partial view. His overall assessment:
“The vote itself went very well. There were some minor irregularities that cannot be considered fraud. Some officials would be talking to the scrutinizers, asking questions that would not be acceptable here in Canada.”
He attributed the majority of Haiti’s electoral inconsistencies to lack of education and training. This seems logical when one remembers the shocking levels of poverty in Haiti, along with corresponding low literacy rates. Not surprisingly, however, given the country’s history of dictatorships, military coups and international occupation, allegations of fraud still shroud the elections.
René Préval of the Lespwa (Hope) party, the favourite among Haiti’s poor majority, was announced the victor nine days after the votes were cast, claiming over 51 per cent of the total vote.
“It appears highly unlikely that Préval’s supporters committed fraud. The ballots found in the dump were in an area where Préval was very popular. Why would Préval’s own people destroy his ballots?” Joanis commented, referring to the ballot boxes found at a landfill after the election.
“Also, a proportionally large number of ballots were blank. This would diminish Préval’s total votes, not play in his favour. At least two of the nine electoral council members raised the possibility that fraud had been committed. Everybody said that if the election is to be clean, then Préval will win in the first round.”
“The election was not a Haitian affair,” continued Joanis, “the election council was basically a figurehead.” The main players were the Organization of American States (OAS), who looked after logistics and printing ballots, the United Nations Stabilization Mission In Haiti (MINUSTAH), who distributed them and returned them for counting, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), who dealt with the financial matters.
The fact that Haitians were not in charge of their own elections has attracted some criticism. The Canada-Haiti Action Network (CHAN) is a grassroots group of solidarity activists united to raise awareness of international transgressions against Haiti. They call for an end to “the Canadian government’s support of civilian murders, political imprisonment and sham elections in Haiti.”
By contrast, Joanis believes there is a place for the international community. In response to an electoral council member’s statement that there would be an investigation into possible fraud, Joanis noted, “This is a country where the justice system is not functioning. People are in jail for crimes they never committed, and sentencing is arbitrary. If there is a credible investigation, it will have to be performed by the same international players who organized the election.”
If he is correct, it may yet be some time before Haiti is able to take a hold of its own destiny. Joanis is well aware of the gravity of the problems in Haiti. However, he remains optimistic and convinced that Haiti is on a path towards governing its own future.
“It depends on what the new president chooses to do. He needs to make overtures to the opposition, which will not be easy. Some have indicated their willingness to work with him; unfortunately, at least one has so far refused to engage in dialogue,” he said.
“The chief of police said that 25 per cent of his force is corrupt or under suspicion. They are drug-dealing along with the elite and are involved in kidnapping. There is also a big problem with armed men from various factions. If the new president plans to create jobs, disarmament will need to be parallel with job creation.”
Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, with 80 per cent of the population living in abject poverty. UN peacekeepers have been stationed there to preserve civil order since 2004, however, the nation is blighted with pervasive violence and corruption and has become a major Caribbean shipment point for cocaine en route to the U.S. and Europe. Economic strife and civil unrest conspire to keep the Haitian Diaspora from returning and helping to rebuild the country.
In regard to the comment by former World Bank official and 1990 Haitian presidential candidate Marc Bazin that “the poorer you are, the less democratic you are,” Joanis responded: “Democracy is not only for the privileged few. The poorer you are, the more democratic you should be!”
“You need a system in place that allows you to use all your citizens and all existing resources. In Haiti, you have so many who are desperately poor and a few who are extremely rich. Without a system for better distribution of wealth, it will be impossible to reduce poverty — and consequently reliance on international aid — anytime soon. But when you have a population that walks long distances and spends hours and hours waiting to vote, despite fear of violence, long line-ups in the hot sun and other obstacles, this is democracy in action.”
