Jovenel Moise set to be named president of Haiti weeks

After weeks of an electoral process plagued with accusations of fraud, Haiti looks like it finally has a president-elect.

The path is cleared for businessman Jovenel Moise to been declared the winner of the Nov. 20 presidential elections, with 55.67 percent of the vote. His challenger, Jude Celestin, finished a distant second, with 19.57 percent.

The results had been delayed as numerous political parties had reported electoral fraud but the country's electoral tribunal issued a statement Tuesday saying "there was no massive fraud in the election. There were irregularities which did not affect the electoral process." The Provisional Electoral Council analyzed 12 percent of the ballots to make its decision.

A formal announcement naming Moise as the next president is expected late on Tuesday.

However, Moise, who ran for the Bald Heads Party of former president Michel Martelly, faces a tough time to unify the country around his leadership.

While no major reports of violence have been heard in Haiti in the hours following the announcement, several parties have refused to accept the decision.

Supporters of the Fanmi Lavalas party, whose candidate Maryse Narcisse obtained just 9 percent, held a rally in Port-au-Prince.

Furthermore, despite a wide margin of victory, Moise's mandate is not a strong one since only 21 percent of the electorate voted in the presidential ballot.

In a press conference on Dec. 28, Moise said that "we are in the majority. We are the strongest and the most tempered, but we are not going to backtrack. Only through the elections one must take power...the behavior of my competitors has cost the country a lot."  

source: Xinhua