Election result

We are still waiting for the results of the latest Senate elections here in Haiti.  Considering the possibilities of election violence in Haiti things went pretty smoothly.  There were reports in various areas of voter intimidation.  One person was killed in Mirebalais.

Often when I go to Port I will pick up one of the Port-au-Prince newspapers.  While we hear lots of reports of the demise of the printed newspaper in North America, it is still very much alive here.  Men hawk the newspapers on the road, I open my window, pay the 20 gourdes and drive off with my newspaper.

La Nouvelliste is one of those papers.  They reported that as of Tuesday between 25-60 percent of votes had been counted.  Voter turnout was pretty low.  There is an inquiry into how the police handled the crowds in Mirebalais.  That is where one person was shot and killed.  They also reported several vehicles stopped with ballot boxes in them as well as weapons.  Lots of funny business.

Another interesting thing to read is the editorials in the papers.  Today there was one about the image Haiti projects to the world.  You might have heard that the Miami Herald recently won a Pulitzer Prize for photography of its coverage of the storms last fall.  The editorial questioned why these are the only images of Haiti the outside world sees.  “How are you helping change the image of Haiti” the author asks.  Good question.

UPDATE: Here is a link to a Miami Herald article giving some election results.  Not very encouraging.