Michel Martelly, a Haitian popular singer known by the stage name “Sweet Micky,” was officially declared the earthquake-devastated country’s next president, election officials said on Wednesday.
A spokesman for Haiti’s electoral commission, Pierre Thibault, said Martelly won the presidency with 67.57 percent of the vote, defeating rival candidate Mirlande Manigat.
The announcement ends a long, drawn-out election that began on Nov. 28 last year and was marred by fraud and other irregularities, several days of rioting and numerous delays.
Photo: AFP
After election officials released preliminary results on April 6 showing that Martelly, 50, defeated his opponent with about 68 percent of the vote, Manigat said she would not contest the results.
Since then, Martelly has spoken about the need for reconciliation in this bitterly divided nation as he’s sought to put together a transition team. On the campaign trail, he called for free education for all children, a renovation of the agricultural sector and the restoration of the disbanded army.
Martelly, a master of Haiti’s compas music before he became a presidential candidate, is scheduled to be inaugurated on May 14. As Haiti’s newly elected president, Martelly faces enormous challenges. He will be tasked with leading multibillion-dollar reconstruction efforts after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake last year claimed 300,000 lives, housing hundreds of thousands of displaced quake survivors and stemming a deadly cholera epidemic.
Election officials also released final results for legislative elections held at the same time, showing that the political party of outgoing Haitian President Rene Preval has a majority in the Haitian Senate. This could prove to be another hurdle for Martelly, for parliament must approve his pick for prime minister.
On the same day Haitian officials announced the final results, Martelly met with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as part of a three-day visit to Washington. He said he spoke with Clinton about his three priorities: education, finding homes for people living in tents and restarting Haiti’s agricultural sector.
In a news conference, Martelly admitted he had “huge challenges” ahead of him. He called reconstruction efforts “despairingly slow.” He also stressed the need to tackle the cholera epidemic that has claimed more than 4,700 lives since October last year. He warned that the coming hurricane season could spread the disease countrywide.
Clinton said she welcomed Martelly as president.
“Now he has a chance to lead and we are behind him,” said Clinton, Martelly at her side. “He is committed to results. He wants to deliver for the Haitian people and we are committed to helping him do so.”
Haiti’s difficult recovery from the earthquake and years of instability and poverty was underscored on Wednesday when 53 members of US Congress wrote to Clinton urging her to work with the Haitian government on providing rapid support for the displaced people lacking adequate shelter, water, sanitation and security.
“The shelter installations in which displaced Haitians live are progressively deteriorating,” the members of Congress wrote.
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