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OAS Assistant Secretary General Meets With Head of UN and Joint Electoral Observation Mission in Haiti

  November 26, 2010

The Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Albert Ramdin, arrived in Haiti on Thursday ahead of Sunday's Presidential and Legislative elections.

Upon his arrival, Ramdin, who will be in Haiti for approximately one week, was immediately updated on the state of preparations for the elections by the Head of MINUSTAH and Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Haiti, Edmund Mulet, and the Head of the Joint Electoral Observation Mission to Haiti, Colin Granderson.

Both Mulet and Granderson acknowledged that the circumstances on the ground were not ideal, but informed the Assistant Secretary General that all systems are in place to hold elections on Sunday. According to Granderson, while some issues are still being worked out, Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) appeared ready for the elections. Mulet meanwhile, informed the OAS official that approximately 20,000 police officers as well as MINUSTAH personnel are expected to be mobilized during the election period to provide security. Violent incidents have been reported ahead of the elections.

Assistant Secretary General Ramdin is expected to hold meetings with Haiti's Prime Minister, Jean Max Bellerive, and other officials during his stay in Haiti.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

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

Reference: E-458/10