Haiti: UN mission calls for explanation on results of three disputed districts

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti has called on the country’s electoral authorities to explain as soon as possible why their results from three districts in recent legislative elections do not match the figures of local and international observers.

In a statement released yesterday, the mission (MINUSTAH) said it took note of the final results announced on Tuesday by the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) in the 18 districts where the original results were contested.

The Council set up a special office to re-tabulate and verify the results in those cases, in cooperation with observers from Haiti’s National Human Rights Defence Network (RNDDH), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

In 15 of the 18 cases, the office’s results matched those of the observers, but not in the cases of the districts of Jacmel, Belladère and Vallières/Carice/Mobin-Crochu.

“In the interests of transparency and in order to legitimize these results, MINUSTAH calls on the CEP to post as soon as possible the decisions of its special office and to explain to all concerned parties, including the candidates, the reasoning that led to these decisions,” the mission said.

MINUSTAH also called on Haitians to refrain from violence during the post-election phase and to work together to reconstruct the country, still reeling from last year’s catastrophic earthquake.

President-elect Michel Martelly is scheduled to be inaugurated on Saturday after he won the run-off round of polls earlier this year and he spoke by telephone yesterday with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

A high-level UN delegation, led by Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro, will attend the inauguration.