Wyclef appeals election disqualification

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Monday August 23, 2010 – Wyclef Jean will be lodging an appeal today in an attempt to get on a list of candidates contesting the November 28th presidential election in
Haiti.

Although initially saying that he would “respectfully accept” the ruling of the Provisional Electoral Commission (CEP) to disqualify him late Friday, even though he did not agree with it, Jean has decided he’s
not giving up on his aspirations just yet.

The 40-year-old hip hop star has told media organisations and posted on Twitter that his lawyers would file an appeal with the national electoral dispute office.

"Tomorrow (Monday) our lawyers are appealing the decision of the CEP. We have met all the requirements set by the laws. And the law must be respected,” he wrote yesterday.

Jean was one of 15 people rejected when the electoral council published a list of 19 validated candidates and although no reason was given for any of the disqualifications, it is no secret that Jean has
not lived in Haiti for the five years prior to the election as the law
requires. At the time of the announcement, Jean urged his supporters to
remain calm and respond “peacefully and responsibly” to the
disappointment. There had been no unrest after the announcement.

Yesterday, after apparently having a change of heart, he told the Associated Press that he has documentation about his candidacy "which shows everything is correct".

Jean, who left Haiti for the US when he was a child, is insisting that having been appointed ambassador at large in 2007, he should be exempt from the residency requirement that is believed to have stopped
him from going forward in the race.

He said that he and his aides "feel that what is going on here has everything to do with Haitian politics”.

“They are trying to keep us out of the race," Jean told AP, referring to Haiti's political establishment.

According to the news agency, Jean is upset that the electoral commission rejected his candidacy before the matter of his residency had been resolved.

He said that after he filed papers to run in the election, two Haitians challenged his candidacy on the grounds that he did not meet residency requirements. Jean told AP that the national electoral dispute
office had ruled in his favour, the two had appealed the decision and
the case was still pending when CEP made its announcement.

Meantime, the joint Organization of American States (OAS)/Caribbean Community (CARICOM) observer mission in Haiti has expressed concern that the process of the validation of candidates was not as transparent as
it could have been.

“Regarding the 15 candidacies that were deemed ineligible, explications about the reasons for invalidating them would have contributed to the transparency of the process,” it said in a statement
issued over the weekend.

As the election process goes forward, the mission has urged all stakeholders involved to continue their efforts toward the realization of credible, transparent and participative elections.

Courtesy of Caribbean 360