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Tuesday, January 31, 2006
United Nations officials have declared Haiti ready for February 7 elections, saying thousands of election workers and peacekeepers are in place to finally hold polls. About 36 000 workers will help ensure smooth voting, while 9 000 UN police and soldiers will guard polling stations and other areas across the country. The polls will be the first since a bloody revolt pushed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power 2 years ago. Since then, Haiti has been gripped by a wave of kidnappings and killings blamed on well-armed gangs, some allegedly allied to Aristide. UN troops arrested 21 alleged gang members in several pre-election security sweeps in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince. The election, budgeted at US 60 million dollars, was postponed 4 times due to poor organization and violence. Thirty-five candidates are running for president and hundreds more for legislative seats.
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