Haitians were due to take the final step in their return to democracy yesterday when they were to hold a legislative runoff that would give the Caribbean nation its first popularly elected government since former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted two years ago.
The race for 127 seats in parliament -- 97 deputies and 30 senators -- features several hundred candidates from more than a dozen parties, ranging from members of Aristide's center-left Lavalas party to former rebels who helped oust him and several center-right, pro-business aspirants.
President-elect Rene Preval's Lespwa party is likely to capture the largest number of seats, but will probably fall short of a majority and will have to forge a coalition government, observers say.
Preval, a former president who shares Aristide's wide support among Haiti's poor masses, has urged citizens to vote amid fears of a low turnout, but the 63-year-old has done little campaigning for candidates of Lespwa which means "hope" in Creole.
Observers say a large turnout would boost Preval's legislative agenda to rebuild Haiti, which has been battered by gang violence, the closure of many textile factories and high unemployment since the February 2004 uprising that forced out Aristide.
Preval is due to take power next month and has pledged to restore security and create new jobs.
"The people need to vote massively so we can help the country move forward," said Max Mathurin, president of Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council.
"We need a high level of participation so this election will be considered legitimate," he said.
Under Haiti's constitution, the party or coalition with the most parliamentary seats gets to choose the prime minister, who acts as head of government and appoints Cabinet members and most administrative posts.
Parliament must also ratify all foreign loans, making it a key link in Haiti's dealings with the international community.
"If you expect Haiti to have any kind of democracy in the future, congress has to play a major role," said Dan Erikson, an expert on Haiti with the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue.
Haiti hasn't had a functioning parliament since 2003, and according to Erikson a huge amount of work will be needed to get it up and running after it's installed.
ROCKY RELATIONS: The figures on residents come as Chinese tourist numbers drop following Beijing’s warnings to avoid traveling to Japan The number of Chinese residents in Japan has continued to rise, even as ties between the two countries have become increasingly fractious, data released on Friday showed. As of the end of December last year, the number of Chinese residents had increased by 6.5 percent from the previous year to 930,428. Chinese people accounted for 22.6 percent of all foreign residents in Japan, making them by far the largest group, Japanese Ministry of Justice data showed. Beijing has criticized Tokyo in increasingly strident terms since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last year suggested that a military conflict around Taiwan could
Japan is to downgrade its description of ties with China from “one of its most important” in an annual diplomatic report, according to a draft reviewed by Reuters, as relations with Beijing worsen. This year’s Diplomatic Bluebook, which Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government is expected to approve next month, would instead describe China as an important neighbor and the relationship as “strategic” and “mutually beneficial.” The draft cites a series of confrontations with Beijing over the past year, including export controls on rare earths, radar lock-ons targeting Japanese military aircraft and increased pressure around Taiwan. The shift in tone underscores a deterioration
A retired US colonel behind a privately financed rocket launch site in the Dominican Republic sees the project as a response to China’s dominance of the space race in Latin America. Florida-based Launch on Demand is slated to begin building a US$600 million facility in a remote region near the border with Haiti late this year. The project is designed to meet surging demand for the heavy-lift rockets needed to put clusters of satellites into orbit. It is also an answer to China’s growing presence in the region, said CEO Burton Catledge, a former commander of the US Air Force’s 45th Operations
Germany is considering Australia’s Ghost Bat robot fighter as it looks to select a combat drone to modernize its air force, German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius said yesterday. Germany has said it wants to field hundreds of uncrewed fighter jets by 2029, and would make a decision soon as it considers a range of German, European and US projects developing so-called “collaborative combat aircraft.” Australia has said it will integrate the Ghost Bat, jointly developed by Boeing Australia and the Royal Australian Air Force, into its military after a successful weapons test last year. After inspecting the Ghost Bat in Queensland yesterday,
RSS