Annan hails Haiti's parliamentary elections as crucial step on road to peace
The calm atmosphere in which the second round of Haiti's parliamentary elections took place on Friday represents a crucial step towards placing the impoverished and strife-torn Caribbean country on the path to peaceful and stable development, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
The calm atmosphere in which the second round of Haiti's parliamentary elections took place on Friday represents a crucial step towards placing the impoverished and strife-torn Caribbean country on the path to peaceful and stable development, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
“It will be essential for the country's progress that all elements of Haiti's political spectrum and the various branches of Haiti's Government work in a spirit of close cooperation to ensure that this opportunity is fully grasped,” he added in a statement issued by his spokesman.
The statement paid tribute to the “excellent collaboration between Haiti and the international community that resulted in an exemplary logistical and technical process.”
The UN helped organize the poll, together with February's presidential vote, as part of its peacekeeping mission in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) was established in 2004 after an insurgency forced elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to go into exile. Former President René Préval won the February's election.