NWE YORY TIMES DEKLARE AYITI BEZWEN YON ELÈKSYON LEJITIM SAN FOS KOTE

Haiti Deserves a Legitimate Election
By THE EDITORIAL BOARDDEC. 12, 2015

Continue reading the main story

There is an electoral crisis in Haiti. An election in October to choose a successor to President Michel Martelly was so marred by reports of ballot tampering, illegal voting and other abuses that the result has been widely denounced as illegitimate.
Not just by the dozens of losing candidates — there were 54 people on the presidential ballot — but by independent election observers, human-rights groups, Haitian religious leaders, organizations of the Haitian diaspora and ordinary citizens who have taken to the streets in angry, sometimes violent, demonstrations.
The country is supposed to hold a runoff election on Dec. 27 between the first-place finisher, Jovenel Moïse, and the first runner-up, Jude Célestin. But Mr. Célestin has called the October results a “ridiculous farce” and threatened to withdraw from the runoff. He has formed a coalition of eight presidential candidates who are demanding an independent investigation of the first election and reforms to assure the integrity of the second.
Photo


 
Haitians gathered in Port-au-Prince on Dec. 5 to protest against election results they considered illegitimate. Credit Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
About all that can be said in favor of the October balloting — for president, but also for Parliament and local mayors — is that it was less violent than usual. But by other measures of credibility, skeptical observers said, it was a colossal failure. Turnout was low, at 26 percent. Observers told of altered ballots, and of supposedly indelible ink that rapidly faded from voters’ thumbs. The government body managing the election, the Provisional Electoral Council, distributed more than 900,000 accreditation cards to representatives of political parties. The cards were meant to be a brake on fraud, but they may have spurred it: Those who carried them could enter polling places and vote even if their names were not listed. Observers said a black market in the cards arose, potentially allowing many buyers to vote early and often.
Mr. Moïse, President Martelly’s chosen successor, has declared himself satisfied with the October results. So has the Organization of American States and the State Department, which sent the special coordinator for Haiti, Kenneth Merten, to try to persuade Mr. Célestin to enter the runoff as planned, with promises of a better Round 2.
Continue reading the main story

Sign Up for the Opinion Today Newsletter

Every weekday, get thought-provoking commentary from Op-Ed columnists, The Times editorial board and contributing writers from around the world.



But the United States should know that it’s impossible to build a legitimate government on a rotten foundation. It should instead be pressing for an independent, Haitian-led inquiry to examine the October vote. The runoff should be postponed, so the October ballots can be openly counted and the results legitimized — if that is even possible, given the irregularities. And any effort at staging a credible election should include reform of the electoral council, which has been accused of partisanship and incompetence.
Since it was stricken by an earthquake nearly six years ago, Haiti has been on a slow path of righting itself, a path complicated by the struggle to rebuild the nearly obliterated Haitian government and to establish strong and sustainable Haitian-led institutions.
Voters in Haiti are distrustful and disheartened, with good reason. The country has no functioning Parliament; it disbanded in January when members’ terms ran out. Mr. Martelly has been ruling by decree. Haiti faces serious problems — a dysfunctional government, voter apathy, joblessness, poverty and cholera — even without a crisis of presidential legitimacy. Its current emergency may lie far from the center of global attention. But anyone who cares about democracy in a country whose fate is so closely tied to the wandering and sometimes malign attentions of the United States and the rest of the world should pay attention. Haitians deserve better than this.

Kawot yo KWIT.

Si NEW YORK TIMES ke menm LE MONDE di se pi GWO JOUNAL ,JOUNAL ki gen plis ENFLIYANS sou PLANET lan (lol)pwononse l konsa?
KENNETH MERTEN te met ale foure TET li anba yon KABANN.

Sel bagay NY TIMES dwe di ke se pa VERIFIKASYON ki bezwen anko ;se yon lot eleksyon ak yon lot KONSEY ELEKTORAL.Yon KONSEY ELEKTORAL tankou sa an DOMINIKANI an ki gen KONFYANS plis ke 80% POPILASYON AN.  .

NI PLIS ,NI MWENS

Pou LISTWA ,se EDITORYAL sa a ke NEW YORK TIMES te fe le 22 DAWOUT 1994 apre BALAGUER te VOLO ELEKSYON yo e misye pa t fe l lan PWEN ke SWIT MIMI sot fe l la a.
Lan lot ATIK NYT di ke yo ka tolere BALAGUER pandan GE FRET lan ,lan non STABILITE ,men kounye an se pou misye mare paket li.
Apre EDITORYAL ,BALAGUER ak EKSTREM DWAT lan "etaient faits comme des rats"
Yo te jis kite BALAGUER fe yon RALONJ ,pou l te OGANIZE bon jan ELEKSYON e se te fen EKSTREM DWAT ZONGKOLOWOCH tankou mesye MATELI yo ,an DOMINIKANI:


Time for Mr. Balaguer to Let Go

Published: August 22, 1994



The United States faces a difficult choice in its relations with the Dominican Republic: accept the results of a questionable election, or refuse to recognize 87-year-old Joaquin Balaguer as legitimate President. Mr. Balaguer has had his day, and the U.S. should not help him hold on to power.

Mr. Balaguer's opponent, Jose Francisco Pena Gomez, claims that 200,000 people, mostly his own supporters, were illegally deprived of their votes in the elections last spring. International observers found these claims credible. Still, the country's election commission certified Mr. Balaguer's victory, with a margin of 22,000-odd votes.

Mr. Balaguer is no stranger to allegations of fraud. But the U.S. has never made much fuss when his victories were questioned in the past; political stability was given a higher value than democratic principle. Mr. Balaguer's last opponent, Juan Bosch, went quietly. But Mr. Pena Gomez has vowed he will not be so cooperative, and his followers threatened national strikes when the election results were certified.

Earlier this month it seemed a solution had been found. Mr. Balaguer agreed to call new elections next year. But last week Mr. Balaguer's party killed the plan in the National Assembly, voting to hold elections in 1996 instead.

At his inauguration for a seventh term, Mr. Balaguer assailed the U.S. for "intrusion" into Dominican affairs, referring to its criticism of the conduct of the election.

Despite Washington's criticism, Ambassador Donna Hrinak attended Mr. Balaguer's inauguration. That sent an unfortunate message. His legitimacy is questionable, and he serves no U.S. purpose. He has been less than cooperative in enforcing the embargo against Haiti's illegal junta. He dislikes the Haitian President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and has had cordial relations with Lieut. Gen. Raoul Cedras, who leads Haiti's illegitimate government.

His hold on power will only spell instability in the Dominican Republic, since Mr. Pena Gomez -- who supports President Aristide -- and his followers are unlikely to accept his leadership. The U.S. and the rest of the international community need to support him only as interim President until he can get his party to go along with the deal he agreed to: new elections next year.


NYT ki toujou ap veye pou ENTERE AMERIKEN te ekri EDITORYAL lan ,apre PEP DOMINIKEN an te pran la RI pou l di ke li pa p AKSEPTE ELEKSYON MALATCHONG BALAGUER an.