Haitians vote hoping to restore constitutional order

Haitians cast their ballots Sunday for president and members of the legislature in elections that had been delayed for more than a year by a constitutional crisis.
Nearly 6.2 million people are eligible to vote in the impoverished Caribbean country, parts of which are still struggling to recover from a devastating hurricane.
Choosing a president from a field of 27 candidates, Haitians formed long lines outside voting stations, under the watchful eyes of polling officials, who allowed people in to vote 10 at a time.
After depositing their ballots, voters had their thumbs stained in indelible ink to make sure they could not vote again.
Leading candidates for president include Jovenel Moise, a wealthy Haitian who has the support of former president Michel Martelly, and Jude Celestin, candidate of the opposition LAPEH.
Also up for grabs are 25 of the 109 seats in the lower house of Haiti’s bicameral legislature, and 16 of the 30 Senate seats.
An attempt to hold the long-delayed election in October 2015 was scrapped over claims of massive fraud and opposition protests.
The cancellation prevented Martelly, a popular singer elected in May 2011, from transferring power to a successor picked by popular vote, as required by the constitution.
Parliament chose Senate chief Jocelerme Privert as interim head of state — initially for a mandate of three months — but new polls were delayed amid civil unrest and political infighting.
The first round of the presidential election was scheduled again for October 9 this year, but was delayed after devastating Hurricane Matthew pummeled the country on October 4.
Tired of the electoral chaos, voters have shown little enthusiasm for participating in Sunday’s polls. In regions hit hard by the hurricane, people have been more concerned with finding food and water than picking the country’s next leaders.
The streets of Port-au-Prince were empty as voting got underway, with youths taking advantage of the absence of traffic to play football in the streets.
Celestin expressed optimism as he voted in Petionville, an upscale neighborhood in the hills overlooking Port-au-Prince.
“I see that in Petionville and in several other quarters, participation is growing. Contrary to what had been thought, in the towns affected by the hurricane, people are going to vote,” he said.
First in line at the Petionville high school, Rita Pierre held her national identification card tight in her hand.
“We need the elections to go well, for the people to wake up and decide to choose a quality person as head of state to change the country,” said Pierre, 37.
Coming three decades after the fall of the Duvalier dictatorships, Sunday’s delayed polls offer a chance to rebuild the country’s weakened political institutions.
But many challenges — poverty, civil unrest, corruption, the lingering effects of a shattering 2010 earthquake, a cholera epidemic and last month’s severe hurricane — cloud Haiti’s prospects.
Among the measures taken to limit potential fraud, voting booths were equipped with side panels for additional privacy, and for the first time poll-watchers as well as voters are required to provide picture IDs.
Authorities sought to reassure voters. A first round of elections in August 2015 was marred by violence that forced the cancellation of votes in nearly a quarter of districts.
“If we mess up these elections, we’re screwed,” national police inspector-general Jean Saint-Fleur acknowledged. “The police are determined to fight any crook or other individual trying to create trouble on election day.”
The authorities banned people from carrying weapons Sunday, and vehicles were not allowed within 100 meters (yards) of polling stations.
More than 9,400 members of the national police were mobilized throughout the country, backed by 1,400 officers from the United Nations mission in Haiti.
Preliminary results are not expected until December 1 due to logistical concerns with some remote areas.
Following an appeal period for candidates, final results are due to be made public on December 29.
Any candidate who wins more than half of the votes cast on Sunday will be the victor. Otherwise, a runoff is set for January 29.
Sandra Honore, head of the United Nations mission in Haiti, urged voters to the polls, calling it the moment for frustrated Haitians “to indicate very clearly what they want.”
The United States, Haiti’s neighbor to the north, praised the government’s “commendable” efforts to organize the elections in the wake of the hurricane.
“We urge all Haitian actors to ensure that the election is peaceful and fair, to allow citizens to cast a vote for their future, and for that of the country,” said State Department spokesman John Kirby.