PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haiti's elections ended in confusion on Sunday as 12 of the 18 presidential candidates denounced "massive fraud" and demanded the polls be annulled and street protests erupted over voting delays and problems.
The repudiation of the elections by so many of the presidential candidates dealt a blow to the credibility of the U.N.-supported poll. The international community was hoping the vote could produce a stable, legitimate government in the poor earthquake-ravaged Caribbean country.
Voters' frustration at not being able to cast their ballots due to organizational problems at many polling stations in the capital Port-au-Prince boiled over into street protests. At least one polling station was trashed by one angry group.
"We denounce a massive fraud that is occurring across the country. ... We demand the cancellation pure and simple of these skewed elections," the 12 presidential candidates said in a statement read to reporters at a Port-au-Prince hotel.
Still, Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) said the elections went "well" at most of the more than 11,000 polling stations across the nation. "The CEP is comfortable with the vote," council president Gaillot Dorsainvil said.
Counting began after polls closed at 4 p.m. (2100 GMT).
After a day of confusion at many polling centers in the capital, some Haitians expressed anger at what they viewed as a wasteful, flawed exercise.
"Look what our government spends its money on," said Abellar Sony, brandishing a fistful of unused ballot papers at a polling station near the Cite Soleil slum. Children played with unmarked ballot papers, scattering them in the air.
The CEP acknowledged "some problems" and said it was trying to resolve them after the turbulent presidential and legislative elections went ahead amid a raging cholera epidemic and political tensions.
The 12 candidates denouncing the poll included all main opposition candidates. They accused outgoing President Rene Preval's Inite (Unity) coalition and its candidate, Jules Celestin, of trying to steal the elections.
Among them were prominent front-runners like former First Lady Mirlande Manigat, popular musician and entertainer Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly, and lawyer Jean-Henry Ceant.
The U.N. mission in Haiti and the Organization of American States/Caribbean Community elections observer mission said they were still gathering information on how the vote went.
Demonstrations flared in several parts of the sprawling capital, which still bears the scars of Haiti's devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. Local radio also reported protests against the electoral process in Gonaives and Les Cayes.
A protest of several thousand people in the capital's Petionville district was led by Martelly, joined by Haitian-American hip-hop star Wyclef Jean, who was barred from standing as a candidate by electoral officials in August.
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The repudiation of the elections by so many of the presidential candidates dealt a blow to the credibility of the U.N.-supported poll. The international community was hoping the vote could produce a stable, legitimate government in the poor earthquake-ravaged Caribbean country.
Voters' frustration at not being able to cast their ballots due to organizational problems at many polling stations in the capital Port-au-Prince boiled over into street protests. At least one polling station was trashed by one angry group.
"We denounce a massive fraud that is occurring across the country. ... We demand the cancellation pure and simple of these skewed elections," the 12 presidential candidates said in a statement read to reporters at a Port-au-Prince hotel.
Still, Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) said the elections went "well" at most of the more than 11,000 polling stations across the nation. "The CEP is comfortable with the vote," council president Gaillot Dorsainvil said.
Counting began after polls closed at 4 p.m. (2100 GMT).
After a day of confusion at many polling centers in the capital, some Haitians expressed anger at what they viewed as a wasteful, flawed exercise.
"Look what our government spends its money on," said Abellar Sony, brandishing a fistful of unused ballot papers at a polling station near the Cite Soleil slum. Children played with unmarked ballot papers, scattering them in the air.
The CEP acknowledged "some problems" and said it was trying to resolve them after the turbulent presidential and legislative elections went ahead amid a raging cholera epidemic and political tensions.
The 12 candidates denouncing the poll included all main opposition candidates. They accused outgoing President Rene Preval's Inite (Unity) coalition and its candidate, Jules Celestin, of trying to steal the elections.
Among them were prominent front-runners like former First Lady Mirlande Manigat, popular musician and entertainer Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly, and lawyer Jean-Henry Ceant.
The U.N. mission in Haiti and the Organization of American States/Caribbean Community elections observer mission said they were still gathering information on how the vote went.
Demonstrations flared in several parts of the sprawling capital, which still bears the scars of Haiti's devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. Local radio also reported protests against the electoral process in Gonaives and Les Cayes.
A protest of several thousand people in the capital's Petionville district was led by Martelly, joined by Haitian-American hip-hop star Wyclef Jean, who was barred from standing as a candidate by electoral officials in August.
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