Haitians Cast Ballots In Historic Vote

Polling stations opened late, or not at all, and scuffles broke out in some areas Tuesday as Haitians cast ballots in the country's first presidential election since a bloody revolt two years ago drove out the president and pushed the country toward total collapse.

Rosemond Pradel, the secretary-general of Haiti's nine-member Electoral Council, told The Associated Press that voting hours will be extended by at least two hours because of organizational problems. He did not give a new closing time but said there were no plans to extend the voting hours into Wednesday.

The polls were supposed to open at 6 a.m. across the Caribbean nation, but a shortage of workers, missing ballots and other problems delayed the opening of some voting stations, including those used by people from Cite Soleil, a volatile shantytown at the northern edge of the capital. Overall, however, voters formed orderly lines and patiently waited to cast ballots.

"There's some frustration and anger on the voting lines," said David Wimhurst, a spokesman for the U.N., which has some 9,000 troops and police trying to maintain order in the troubled nation. "People have ben waiting several hours now and in some cases they haven't even got inside."

More than 5,000 people waited to vote at a polling station near Cite Soleil, which was deemed too dangerous to have voting booths of its own. Some frustrated people chanted "We have the right to vote," as the far-behind-schedule election workers assembled ballot boxes.

The polling station eventually opened three hours behind schedule. By 11 a.m. local time, Wimhurst said people were voting at another station near Cite Soleil but the remaining two had not opened.

Earlier, gunshots could be heard from within the slum, which is home to some 200,000 people, but the source of the shooting could not be determined.

Wimhurst blamed the problems on poor planning and a lack of trained workers. The Haitian Electoral Council and the Organization of American States were chiefly responsible for organizing the elections, which had been postponed four times.

"Some polling workers didn't show up for work, so we're going to grab people from the crowd, give them some quick training and get them in there (polling stations), Wimhurst said.

Rene Preval, a 63-year-old agronomist and former president, was the front-runner, according to pre-election opinion polls. He was expected to draw the support of many poor Haitians, including people from Cite Soleil and supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Preval voted at a school in his hometown of Marmelade, in the country's rural north, to cheers from the crowd.

In an interview with The Associated Press, he said a large turnout would "mean people are investing everything in this election" and that he make restoring security to the capital a priority if he is elected.

"We are a poor country and we will not be able to do everything right away," he said. "But we are determined to do our best and raise the standard of living for the people of Haiti."

Other top contenders among the 33 candidates are Charles Henri Baker, 50, whose family runs factories in the assembly-for-export industry, and Leslie Manigat, 75, who was president for five months in 1988 until the army ousted him when he tried to shake up its high command.

There were no reports of violence, but a 76-year-old man collapsed and died while trying to vote among a throng of people at a school in the upscale Petionville area of the capital.

Stephane Lacroixe, a spokesman for Haiti's electoral council, apologized for the delays and urged voters to be patient.

"We are in control of the situation," said Lacroixe, who declined to say whether authorities would allow polls to remain open longer to make up for the delays.

In many areas, voting went smoothly. Clutching newly minted voter ID cards, about 1,000 people lined up before dawn at a polling station in the Port-au-Prince area of Delmas, slowly filing in and leaving with a dark ink stains on their thumbs — proof that they voted.

Outside a polling station in the downtown slum of Bel-Air, hundreds of waiting voters snaked along rutted, trash-strewn streets.

"Haitians are mobilized for change. That's why there's so many people in the street this morning," said Jean Joseph, 44, as he went to cast his ballot.

U.N. special envoy to Haiti, Juan Gabriel Valdes, said he was happy to see long lines of voters during a tour of a polling station near the St. Pierre church in Bel-Air.

"It's a victory for democracy, a victory for Haiti," Valdes said. "It's calm and people are lining up to exercise their right to vote."

Minutes later, however, a scuffle broke out at the polling center, when impatient voters began shouting, pushing and shoving to keep their position in line. Several fainted and were carried out.

Authorities urged Haitians to vote in large numbers under the protection of thousands of U.N. peacekeepers, calling Tuesday's election a key step to reversing Haiti's cycle of despair.

"Haiti's future depends on this vote," said Jacques Bernard, director general of the electoral council. "Good elections are the only solution to saving our nation."

Helicopters, truck and even mules ferried election supplies into remote corners of the nation, which has never seen democracy fully take root. Only one elected president, Preval, has served out his term in office, from 1996-2001.

Also running are a former rebel in the insurgency that forced Aristide from office in February 2004 and a former army officer accused in the death of a Haitian journalist. If no candidate wins a majority, a March 19 runoff would be held between the top two candidates.

Hundreds of candidates are also running for 129 parliamentary seats.

Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the Organization of American States, told The Associated Press late Monday he expected high turnout.

"We have seen ... a lot of enthusiasm to vote," he said in Port-au-Prince, the capital of this nation of 8 million people.

At the United Nations, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi said 92 percent of the 3.5 million people who registered to vote had collected their identity cards, and people were continuing to pick up cards during the day Monday.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the 9,300-member U.N. peacekeeping force "will do all it can to support the Haitian authorities in ensuring that the vote is held in freedom and safety."