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The OAS-CARICOM Joint Mission has taken note of the publication of the final results of the second round of the presidential and legislative elections in Haiti

  April 21, 2011

The OAS-CARICOM Joint Electoral Observation Mission (JEOM) has taken note of the final results of the second round of the presidential and legislative elections announced by the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) late in the evening of 20 April 2011. The Mission welcomes the confirmation of the election of Mr. Michel Martelly to the post of President of the Republic of Haiti and congratulates him.

With regard to the results of the legislative elections, the JEOM is awaiting the posting of the decisions taken by the CEP following the hearings and deliberations of the National Electoral Complaints and Challenges Bureau (BCEN) in order to understand the reasons which led to the reversing of eighteen positions posted during the preliminary results. The Mission calls on the CEP to post the decisions of the BCEN as quickly as possible in order to inform the candidates and political parties concerned of the facts that motivated its decisions.

The Mission reiterates that transparency remains an essential ingredient for the integrity and legitimacy of the electoral process, especially at this critical moment when the final results of the second round have been announced.

Taking into account the rigorous verification work done by the Vote Tabulation Centre (CTV) and the quality of the pleadings during the hearings of the BCEN, and without knowing the content of the decisions taken by that body nor whether its members proceeded to the CTV to verify the information given by the complainants, the Joint Mission can only question whether the eighteen changes in position announced during the proclamation of the final results in fact express the will of the voters in those constituencies.

The JEOM deplores the violent protests that erupted after the proclamation of the final official results in different parts of the country. The Mission calls on the candidates and political parties to be responsible and to call on their supporters to bring an end to these unruly demonstrations.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-639/11