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(E-127) July 7, 2000 OAS WILL NOT OBSERVE HAITI'S JULY 9 SECOND ROUND
ELECTIONS As
announced previously, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission has
determined that, according to the provisions of Haiti's own electoral
legislation, the final results for the senate elections as proclaimed by
the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) are incorrect,
and the Mission cannot consider them either accurate or fair.
As a result, the Mission announces that it will not observe the
second round of the electoral process scheduled to take place on Sunday,
July 9th. The
Mission believes that the methodology used by the Provisional Electoral
Council to calculate percentages for the senate races violates both the
Constitution of Haiti and its Electoral Law.
Both clearly state that in order to be elected in the first
round, a candidate for the Senate must obtain the absolute majority of
all valid votes. The
respect of the Constitution and the Electoral Law by the public
institution responsible for the organization and verification of
elections is a fundamental condition of the rule of law and the
foundation for a valid electoral process. The
final percentages proclaimed by the CEP constitute a serious error that
could and should have been corrected.
As it is already known, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission
sent a letter to the President of the CEP several weeks ago in which
this error was brought to the Electoral Council's attention.
Several political parties, civil society representatives, and
members of the international community also identified the same mistake. In
addition, according to his declaration of June 21st, the
President of the CEP, L�on Manus, felt compelled to abandon his post
and leave the country, after refusing to endorse the false calculations. The
Mission deplores that the highest electoral authority has continued to
affirm the results distorted by a methodology contrary to Haiti's own
laws and to international standards of equity and transparency.
The Mission emphasizes that this method excludes a significant
part of the Haitian population and violates the principle of one person,
one vote. The
Mission considers that the results are biased and had a major impact on
the number of senatorial candidates elected in the first round , and
thus cannot be the basis for a credible and fair electoral process.
Since
May 21st, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission has been
witness to an electoral process that has become increasingly flawed by
irregularities such as the inaccurate transmission of results, the
arbitrary treatment of challenges filed by candidates and political
parties and the irregular conduct of partial elections in some regions. As
is customary, the Mission will present its detailed observations in a
report to be presented to the Secretary General and to the Permanent
Council of the OAS. Despite
the efforts of various sectors of Haitian society and the CARICOM Member
States, an acceptable solution to the electoral crisis could not be
found.
As a result, the Mission regretfully announces the suspension of
all its observation activities for the second round.
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