THE furious protests paralyzing Haiti were provoked by the widespread suspicion that a botched presidential election is now being stolen. Haiti, with all of its many problems, desperately needs a credible, legitimately elected government. A New York Times editorial says Haitian electoral officials need to scrupulously recheck vote totals under the close watch of outside observers. Excerpts: Haitians were upset over last month's balloting, which was marred by procedural chaos and widespread accusations of intimidation and fraud. When President Rene Préval's handpicked electoral council announced Tuesday that the president's protégé, Jude Célestin, had – contrary to reports from outside observers – edged out Michel Martelly, a popular musician, for a spot in a January runoff, crowds reacted with fury. The council's claim that Mirlande Manigat, a former first lady, had come in first is not being seriously questioned. The United States Embassy, in a blunt news release Tuesday night, expressed its own skepticism about Célestin's apparent victory, calling it “inconsistent” with the findings of the National Election Observation Council, an outside group that had stationed “more than 5,500 observers at 1,600 voting centers nationwide” as well as with reports from officially accredited American observers and “vote counts observed around the country by numerous domestic and international observers.” All concluded that the top two vote-getters had been Manigat and Martelly, with Célestin in third. The United States and international partners, including observation teams led by the Organization of American States and Caribbean Community, must keep a close eye on the next critical steps. Haitians, includingMartelly and his supporters, meanwhile, must contain their frustrations and be ready to express them at the right place and time: at the ballot box in January. __
