June 30-July 2, 2006
The annulment of senatorial elections in the Nord-Est Department
The decision of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to postpone the mayoral and local elections and the left-over legislative races in the Nord-Est has angered the candidate of the social-democratic Fusion Party, Rudolph Boulos. He says the “president of the CEP is engaged in an abuse of power to the detriment of an entire population.”
“This shows,” said Boulos, “that the electoral commission has no respect for the Nord-Est. It also shows disdain for the three hundred thousand inhabitants of this department by depriving them of their representation in the senate.”
The candidate for the Fusion Party equally regretted that the “Nord-Est is also not represented in the senate leadership and committees.
“At a moment when insecurity is spreading in the department, when major infrastructure projects such as the road between Cap-Haitien and Dajabon are underway, when a textile concession is being discussed that would boost the free-trade zone in the region, the Nord-Est finds itself more isolated than ever.”
Three senators still need to be elected from the department where the vote of February 7, the first round, was annulled by the electoral commission “because the photograph of one candidate for the senate was missing from the ballots.”
Twelve of the thirteen legislative districts of the department have elected their representatives to the lower chamber, with the exception of Sainte-Suzanne where the first round was also annulled because of candidates? challenges.
In the two elections for senate held this year in the Nord-Est, the Fusion candidate, Rudolph “Rudy” Boulos came in far ahead of his opponents. Six candidates for the senate (two Lespwa, one Fusion, one Pont, one Fanmi Lavalas, and one OPL) and two candidates for the lower chamber (one Lavalas, one Lespwa) are to compete in runoff elections whose date has not been set by the electoral commission.
(Webmaster’s note: Rudolph Boulos, a founding board member of the Haiti Democracy Project, resigned from the board in 2005 to run for the Haitian senate.)