Haiti to recount votes due to suspicion of fraud
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Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) announced on Thursday that it will do a recount of votes from the country's presidential and legislative elections on Nov. 28, due to suspicions of fraud in favor of official candidate Jude Celestin.
According to information reaching Santo Domingo from Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, there have been protests in the entire country, which killed four people and left many injured, since the results were announced on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the CEP announced that Mirlande Manigat, the only women contender, won the election with 31 percent of the vote, and since she did not get enough votes for an outright majority, there will be a second round on Jan. 16 between her and Celestin, who was in second place with 22 percent of the vote.
This situation led to reports of fraud, since Haitians believe that Michael Martelly, a famous singer, should be in second and not in third place.
"We are going to create a joint commission to do a recount, which will include the three presidential candidates with the most votes, national and international observers, as well as representatives of the international community," the CEP said in a statement.
Manigat said in a press conference that "my votes are greater, the fraud prevented me from winning a greater percentage" of votes.
Meanwhile, Martelly called on the people to peacefully mobilize to denounce "the great fraud" during the elections in support of Celestin.
The CEP did not mention when it will announce the result of the recount.
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