Five people died on Tuesday as Haitians voted in their first parliamentary and presidential election in six years with the hope that the new leaders will bring the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation out of political chaos and violence.
International organizations declared the election historical and a success despite the deaths, dozens of injuries and lines sometimes as long as 2km as voters queued under heavy security for an election that had been delayed four times since last fall.
Two people died in a clash in a village when a police officer shot and killed one person in a melee and the crowd turned on and killed the officer, Radio Metropole said.
Two older voters died of heart attacks in crushes of voters outside polling stations in Port-au-Prince, while the fifth fatality was a man who died in an accident in front of another polling place, the radio station said.
The scene outside many polling stations was one of chaos, disorder and flaring tempers as Haitians began lining up before the 6am start of voting and as some stations opened hours late.
As a result, Haiti's electoral commission extended voting hours through the night until everyone in line had a chance to vote in the country's first election since former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in February 2004.
More than 9,000 UN troops and Haitian police provided security, which was stepped up around the polling stations after the first death.
Election results were expected in a few days, but the frontrunner for a five-year presidential term, according to opinion polls, was Rene Preval, an Aristide confidant from the Lavalas Party.
His nearest rival was expected to be entrepreneur Charles Henri Baker, who campaigned on a platform of economic recovery under the slogan "Order, Discipline, Work."
Apart from a president, about 3.5 million registered voters were choosing 99 lower-house deputies and 30 senators.
The head of the UN mission in the Caribbean country, Juan Gabriel Valdes, and the secretary-general of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, said that while there were problems, the vote was a success and marked an extraordinary day in the history of Latin America.
A majority of Haitians exercised their right to vote, showing a determination to do so despite long lines and other obstacles, they told reporters in Port-au-Prince.
"We did what was possible," interim President Gerald Latortue said after the chaotic voting.
RSS