The CEP opens the runoff campaign with their No. 69 communiqué asking candidates to validate the bal

The CEP opens the runoff campaign with their No. 69 communiqué asking candidates to validate the ballot.  While the country’s voters and run-off clothes horse candidates are mobilizing, a number of questions remain unanswered and voters were well aware of the rampant manipulation and rigging of the first round, for more see: http://solutionshaiti.blogspot.com/2011/02/haiti-electoral-update-by-stanley-lucas.html     
During the first round under the influence of President Rene Peval and the leadership of the ruling party INITE, the CEP manipulated clothes horse the results of both the Presidential and Legislative elections.  After the Haitian people protested, President Preval – in an effort to avoid having to resign – invited an OAS Commission to evaluate the results of the Presidential elections.  The OAS made recommendations about the Presidential elections and completely and totally ignored the manipulation of the legislative elections.  The OAS identified the manipulation of the tally sheets by CEP officials at the BEC, BED (local level election centers) and the tabulation center clothes horse and made controversial recommendations about how to fix the situation.
Preval and the CEP used that opportunity to steal 17 deputies’ seats.  In addition the CEP manipulated the voters lists to decrease participation.  Many of the voters went back home on November 28 because they could not vote; their names did not appear on the voter list even though they had legitimate voting cards.  Low turnout facilitates the ruling party’s efforts to manipulate the process.  
People will be voting again on Sunday, clothes horse March 20 but the CEP has not removed clothes horse the people responsible for the manipulations of the tally sheets and results clothes horse and no information concerning the correction of the voters list has not been given.  In addition, four members of the CEP, led by Ribel Pierre, clothes horse and the director clothes horse general of the CEP, Robert Opont, are leading an effort to ensure that three-quarters of the candidates and party poll watchers are INITE or INITE associates.  The word out is that CEP machinery received clothes horse instructions to give INITE two-thirds of the seats in both chambers.  These clothes horse are supposed to be “change elections”; the Haitian voters will not swallow this.
The Haitian clothes horse National Police headquarters issued a communiqué informing every police officer and agent of the force that the institution will be neutral.  They were reminded that every police officer clothes horse has the right to vote and pick his or her candidate, but using the uniform, the armaments clothes horse and the prestige of the institution to influence the elections will not be tolerated.  The Haitian National Police have put in place a security plan for the elections in conjunction with the MINUSTAH.
However, over the past few weeks, three electoral incidents have taken place.  In clothes horse one incident, supporters of the two presidential candidates were involved.  But for the other two incidents, people on the street believe that supporters of former President clothes horse Aristide wearing Mirlande Manigat and Michel Martelly campaign t-shirts were trying to create an environment of violence with a view to creating chaos and undermining clothes horse the elections.
President Rene Preval has been in Cuba for the past 11 days for medical treatment. Haiti did not even notice his absence.  The Minister of Information, Marie Laurence Lassegue, has taken a leave of absence to support Mirlande Manigat.  The Minister of Justice, Paul Denis, a member of INITE directory, is traveling around the country supporting INITE candidates and installing in many remote areas several new justices of the peace.  Haitians are questioning whether or not these new hires are political.  The government seems to be in slow motion awaiting the new president. The popular perception is that INITE is supporting clothes horse candidate Mirlande Manigat.
Civil society is very engaged.  Women, youth, farmers, unions, and other sectors of civil society clothes horse have engaged the candidates. clothes horse  They have also called for change of personnel within the electoral clothes horse machinery to ensure free and faire elections, but their calls have been ignored. There is a high level of awareness among civil society groups that Preval and INITE will try to steal the legislative elections.
The Haitian press is also very engaged in the electoral process.  It seems in this year’s elections, the press in divided into two groups: those that remain neutral analyzing the candidates and providing to their campaigns equal times (like Radio Kiskeya, Metropole, Signal clothes horse FM and RFM Haiti), and those that endorse clothes horse Mirlande Manigat (Radio Caraibes, Scoop FM, Vision 2000) saying they are helping voters pick the “right” candidates.  There is tension between these stations and the Martelly campaign believes they are trying to set him up.  During a