At least six million Haitians were eligible to vote for one of 27 presidential candidates, as well as for members of both houses of parliament in elections that had been repeatedly delayed for various reasons.

Vote counting began yesterday in Haiti’s repeatedly derailed presidential election on Sunday marred by acts of violence and the arrests of several people for various voting irregularities.

No official results are expected to be issued for eight days, and the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) executive director Uder Antoine has said it might take longer than that.

The Anti-Fraud Emergency Center of the Ministry of Justice said it had already received more than 300 reports of fraud and that 80 per cent of the calls received were linked to the voting centers.

The presidential candidates included: Jovenel Moise, a plantation owner, chosen by the ruling PHTK (“the Bald Heads Party) and Jude Celestin of the LAPEH Party of former President Michel Martelly.

Interim President Jocelerme Privert addressing news conference

Celestin had placed second in the 2015 ballot that subsequently was cancelled. The other candidates include Maryse Narcisse, who was a spokeswoman for former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who had endorsed Narcisse and encouraged his supporters to take to the streets in protest if her candidacy failed.

“The people who will win will win and those who will lose will win through those who win. Because the real people who will win, when the final results will be published, it is not the candidates that is the country, it is the Haitian people,” Privert told reporters.

He said because of the importance of the elections “it is not for us the government, it is not for me that is there for a few weeks, it is not for the candidates, it is the victory of the Haitian people.
“So I ask all of you to contribute to enable the Haitian people to win this victory, so that once and for all, we would emerge from the political instability that is one of the main factors in which the country is today,” he added.

No official results are expected to be issued for eight days, and the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) executive director Uder Antoine has said it might take longer than that.

The Anti-Fraud Emergency Center of the Ministry of Justice said it had already received more than 300 reports of fraud and that 80 per cent of the calls received were linked to the voting centers.

The police said that at least 13 arrests had been made during the polling on Sunday and reminded persons of article 201 of the Electoral Decree of March 2, 2015, which stipulates that anyone who violates the election rules “is punished with imprisonment from six (6) months to three (3) years and a fine of ten thousand (10,000) to one hundred thousand (100,000) gourdes (One Haitian Giourde =US$0.015 cents)“

The Deputy Spokesperson of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), Inspector Garry Desrosiers, described Sunday’s poll as “satisfactory”.

He said unfortunately several incidents were recorded including physical stab wounds, seven cases of illegal possession of firearms, sporadic shooting, electoral fraud and the disturbance of public order in voting centers.

“A total of 43 people were arrested by the police and transferred to justice,” he said, adding that four vehicles were confiscated.

“For now, the PNH remains on the ground because the counting is taking place and it is necessary that the police officers accompany members of polling stations and members of the Voting Center,” he added.

Haiti has been without an elected head of state after President Martelly left office in February and Privert was elected as the Interim president.

Under the current timetable, the new president will not take office until February 7 but the elections cycle wouldn’t end until April 2017 — more than two years after elections began.