2010-11-27 11:07:15

Haitians vote in first post-quake elections


Millions of Haitian citizens go to polling stations Sunday to choose the impoverished Island nation’s next president.Haiti's presidential candidates put a wrap to their campaigns on Friday with boisterous rallies in the capital, Port au-Prince, ahead of elections scheduled for Sunday.

More than a third of Haiti’s nearly 5 million registered voters are listed as living in the capital, though the voting register includes the names of many people who perished in the massive earthquake, which devastated the capital this past January: a disaster from which neither the capital nor the rest of the country is even close to being fully recovered.

Nineteen candidates are seeking the island nation’s highest office. Voting is the people's secret weapon. The UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Haiti, Edmond Mulet says the vote represents a real and an important opportunity for the people of Haiti.

For the International Community too this is very important. For the help, support and money that needs to be delivered for reconstruction. And for all the other aspects that Haiti is facing now. It is much easier to do that with a legitimate government.

The winner will inherit responsibilities to manage a cholera epidemic that is expected to expected to sicken 400,000 people, as well as address the immediate and long-term needs of millions of unemployed, displaced citizens.

Listen to Chris Altieri's report: RealAudioMP3







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