Polls open in Haiti election amid security concerns

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – Haitians don’t lack for choice as they seek a leader who might be able to lift the nation out of poverty and turbulence.

“The field is so crowded and confusing that there’s little clarity about who might be leading; polls have been unreliable and contradictory”.

The Caribbean nation of about 10 million people has struggled to build a stable democracy ever since the overthrow of the dictatorship of the Duvalier family, which led Haiti from 1957 to 1986, and ensuing military coups and election fraud. At a voting center in Port-au-Prince’s Martissant slum, an elections supervisor repeatedly yelled at dozens of individuals making an attempt to force their approach in.

The legislative vote is also crucial as dissolved in January after two missed elections left the and the Chamber of Deputies without a quorum when the terms of sitting members ran out. The National Human Rights Defense Network (known by its French acronym RNDDH) had described the first round of elections as “an affront to democratic norms”, but today the group’s Executive Secretary Pierre Esperance was much more positive, describing today’s voting, as a “marked improvement”.

Officials had no immediate estimate of national voter turnout.

Meanwhile, the country has not had a presidential election since 2010.

Given the massive number of Presidential candidates in this year’s race – 54 to be exact – there will be many disappointed partisans when the results are announced in about 10 days.

– IVORY COAST: Incumbent President Alassane Ouattara is widely expected to prevail over a divided opposition and perhaps secure enough votes to avoid a runoff in the first presidential election since a disputed vote five years ago triggered violence that killed more than 3,000 people.

Whoever wins the nearly inevitable December 27 presidential runoff will face numerous challenges, including spurring Haiti’s chronically sputtering economy and weaning it off dependence on foreign aid donors, who are largely funding this year’s roughly $70 million three-round electoral process.

The continuing appeal of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was on display as over 1,500 people greeted him when he arrived at a voting center near his home, many chanting “Aristide is our blood”.

He was accompanied Fanmi Lavalas party candidate Maryse Narcisse, but a few in the crowd said they were backing ex-Sen.

Reporting from Port-au-Prince, NPR’s Carrie Kahn reported Saturday on Weekend Edition that Jude Celestin, a mechanical engineer educated in Switzerland, and Jovenel Moise, a wealthy businessman who made his money exporting fruit, are two of the more established candidates running for president. He got dropped from a run-off in 2010 after foreign observers challenged his results, and many Haitians think he was unfairly treated last time around.

Haiti is holding the first round of voting Sunday in its presidential election and the second round of legislative and municipal elections.

A youth wearing campaign stickers promoting presidential candidate Jude Celestin, from the LAPEH party, attends a rally in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, October 23, 2015.

Martelly, a popular singer, shook up the political order with his election victory in 2011 as the country was still reeling from a devastating quake.