"It is also clear that the fact that the elections won't take place
this month means it is impossible to have a new elected president by May
14," Berlanger said.
Haiti will miss election deadline, no date for new president(Reuters)
Haiti will not
meet a deadline to complete its presidential election by April 24, the
top election official said on Thursday, without giving a new date to
hold the already delayed vote in the impoverished Caribbean country.
The
election was postponed in January after sometimes violent protests over
allegations of fraud in the first round. An interim government has been
running the country since the last president's term ended in February.
"It
is clear that the elections won't take place on April 24, but we are
still assessing the election machinery as we make decisions about the
way forward," the head of a newly appointed electoral council, Leopold Berlanger, told Reuters.
He
said the delay, which comes after political battles over the formation
of the interim government, meant that temporary President Jocelerme Privert would not hand over to an elected successor by May 14, as agreed in a cross-party deal to overcome the crisis.
"It
is also clear that the fact that the elections won't take place this
month means it is impossible to have a new elected president by May 14," Berlanger said.
The
results of the first round in October put Jovenel Moise in first place
and Jude Celestin in second for a runoff, but Celestin and several more
of the 52 losing candidates rejected the outcome.
Before
completing the process, the election council is overseeing a second
evaluation of the results to test the claims of fraud and decide which
candidates should take part.
Supporters of former
president Michel Martelly and his favoured candidate, Moise, have
protested in recent days, claiming Privert is dragging his feet so his
allies can cling on to power. The protesters demand the election be held
as soon as possible.
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