Musician Wyclef Jean Mulling Haiti Presidential Run

By: Jimmy So
Topics: Haiti

Haitian-born singer Wyclef Jean speaks with flood victims in Gonaives, Haiti, Sept. 14, 2008.

(Credit: AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Musician Wyclef Jean is thinking about running for President of Haiti, CNN's Sara Holbrooke reported on a blog post. The Haitian-American told CNN, "I can't sing forever," and that he's already filled out the paperwork required for a presidential run. The French-language Canadian publication Le Droit first reported the story over the weekend, and suggested that Jean could be in a good position to battle the rampant corruption of his Caribbean homeland since he's already wealthy.

And as 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley reported last year, the former Fugee is no "Refugee All-Star" marooned in an adopted land, having frequently gone back to his native country for years, busy providing humanitarian aid to the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

Yet Jean's charity, Yele Haiti Foundation, has been accused of being a poorly-run organization with lax financial accountability. Gawker has accused Jean of paying his mistress $105,000 through Yele, and The Smoking Gun alleges that Yele has made Jean even richer.

In January, Jean gave an impassioned defense of his work. "Have we made mistakes before? Yes. Did I ever use Yele money for personal benefit? Absolutely not," he said.

Whatever you think of Jean, let's hope reality will not fulfill the eerie portents of Jean's own song, "President," if he indeed becomes the leader of Haiti:

If I was president,
I'd get elected on Friday,
assassinated on Saturday,
and buried on Sunday.

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by SM1080 July 26, 2010 10:46 PM EDT: Hopefully,... they don't ignore the constitution and just let unqualified candidates go through because of popularities because the Haitian law says that if you haven't lived in the country for a set number of years directly b4 the election and if you are not by law a Haitian citizen (there is no dual citizenship), you are not qualified and will be denied. Remember the Texan Haitian businessman who applied last election and was denied cause he is a dyaspora? It may be a poor country but there is still a law to follow.

There ARE laws in Haiti. It's just a question of if they will be enforced or not. The man has not lived in Haiti in a long time, nor is he intellectually qualified and what is his political background? No run for congress, senate... just straight to the top huh? SMH; Reply to this comment


by pragmatist1 July 26, 2010 7:46 PM EDT: Yeah, like he'll actively do anything about over-population if elected, which is the primary problem with Haiti. Too many kids being born. There's no future for Haiti. It doesn't want to change.; Reply to this comment


by Jistishaiti July 26, 2010 7:00 PM EDT: Haiti is going through many problems.

Issues that are important include education, free and fair elections, housing, access to credit, and reconstruction as a whole.

What I would like to see is a series of debates among the leading candidates for President on the real issues.

Particularly, I would like to see the Diaspora radio stations and the leading Diaspora organizations organizing 5 or 6 debates among the following candidates: Wyclef Jean, Stanley Lucas, Steven Benoit and Senator Edmonde Beauzile.

I know that Stanley Lucas is unbeatable when it comes to the issues.

And, Benoit isn't bad either.

I can't wait to see a real discussion on the substance -- this would be unprecedented and it's more important than ever.; Reply to this comment


by aidawedo July 26, 2010 5:23 PM EDT: The Haitian electorate will probably boycott any election under a foreign occupation AND where the most popular party is barred from the November elections.

He can't run anyway, it would be an illegitimate run on a number of other levels.

He's not got the intellect, international political experience, qualification (5 years living in Haiti) or the influence and electoral support from the Haitian public. He hasn't even got a political party. What an ego this guy has.

And for the author of this piece:
Congrats on following meeting the criteria when writing a story on Haiti -- you made sure to mention; it's the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

Here's some more clich? you didn't mention:

<b>How to Write about Haiti</b>
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/crossover-dreams/a-guide-for-american-jour_b_656689.html; Reply to this comment