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WORLD NEWSMonday 10 August 2015

Disorder rife as Haitians vote in delayed elections CARIBBEAN

EVENS SANON the 30-member Senate In the crowded capital, at of voting more than once. Guyana: Talks have
Associated Press and the entire 99-member least three voting centers Observers from various po- resumed with China
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) Chamber of Deputies. were shut down by authori- litical parties complained over airport project
— Haitians were electing But a number of polling sta- ties after fistfights broke out election officials did not
legislators to Parliament tions across the country of as partisans attempted to give them access to voting GEORGETOWN, Guyana
Sunday after a yearslong 10 million people had to stuff ballot boxes and en- centers. (AP) — Guyana says work
Still, Haitian Prime Minister to extend the South Ameri-
A man is detained by the police for allegedly casting his vote twice, during parliamentary Evans Paul said the gov- can country’s main air-
elections in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015. Haitians are electing legislators to ernment was satisfied with port runway is expected
Parliament after a very long wait. It’s been roughly eight months since the legislature was how the legislative elec- to resume following a dis-
dissolved and nearly four years since the vote was supposed to be held. tions were being handled, pute with a Chinese state
“despite the incidents that company. Infrastructure
(AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) we would like to firmly con- Minister David Patterson
demn.” The vote was tak- says significant progress
wait, but the vote was wait for ballots hours af- gage in other irregularities. ing place roughly eight has been made in recent
plagued with delays, dis- ter voting was supposed At one voting center in months after Haiti’s legisla- conversations with China
order and occasional fist- to start at 6:00 a.m. (1000 downtown Port-au-Prince, ture was dissolved because Harbour Engineering Co.
fights and rock throwing. GMT). In sections of Port- groups of young men the terms of lawmakers ex- The weekend announce-
The legislative elections au-Prince, voters grew ripped up paper ballots as pired before new elections ment comes after the
had been postponed for exasperated after being heavily armed police shot could be held. government complained
nearly four years due to told they couldn’t cast bal- into the air to re-establish It’s the first election Haiti about missed deadlines,
a political showdown be- lots because their names order. Rocks were thrown has held under President high costs and what it
tween Haiti’s executive weren’t on official voting in response before authori- Michel Martelly, who took claimed was failure to do
and opposition, and they lists. ties closed the polling sta- office in May 2011 and is in proper engineering stud-
have been billed as a cru- “This is very frustrating. Are tion. the final year of a five-year ies. The project to extend
cial test of the country’s they trying to discourage Local media also reported term. He has governed by the runway at Cheddi Ja-
electoral system ahead of voting?” gardener Gerald the closure of polling plac- decree since Parliament gan International Airport
a presidential vote in Oc- Henry complained to a re- es in other sections of the dissolved in January and by about 3,200 feet (1,000
tober. Sunday’s first round porter after election work- country and scattered ar- cannot run for a consecu- meters) was expected to
seeks to fill two thirds of ers turned him away. rests of people accused tive term. In the absence be completed by Septem-
of elections, Martelly has ber. Guyana had signed a
been accused of stack- $138 million agreement in
ing the deck in his favor 2011 with Chinese officials.
by appointing mayors and
other municipal officials to Puerto Rico to get
replace those whose terms $10M to fight drugs,
expired.
Roughly 5.8 million people increase security
were registered to vote
and over 1,850 candidates SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico
from nearly 130 political (AP) — Puerto Rico’s repre-
parties were running. sentative in Congress says
Elections in Haiti are never the U.S. territory is slated
easy and the country’s Pro- to receive $10 million in
visional Electoral Council federal funds to help fight
has long been criticized for drug trafficking, boost se-
votes plagued by disorga- curity and respond to nat-
nization, ballot irregularities ural disasters. Pedro Pierluisi
and fraud allegations.q said Saturday the Federal
Emergency Management
Ex-USVI official charged in $17M in bribery scheme Agency will allocate the
money under four separate
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. acy, bribery and perjury. to appear in court Aug. 12. Authorities say that Cas- grants. He also announced
Virgin Islands (AP) — A He was the Public Finance The indictment states that tor’s company in return the Federal Aviation Ad-
former U.S. Virgin Islands Authority’s former director construction company obtained more than $17 ministration will allocate
government official has of finance and adminis- owner Gerard Castor pro- million in construction con- $3.8 million, the major-
been charged in a $17 mil- tration. Also charged are vided more than $400,000 tracts including one to ity of which will go toward
lion bribery scheme. The a construction company in improvements to Fran- build a library in St. Thomas. runway improvements at
U.S. Justice Department owner and the co-principal cis’ home and more than Attorneys for the men three small airports, includ-
says Julito Francis faces 11 of an architectural com- $100,000 to the property of could not be reached for ing an international airfield
counts including conspir- pany. They are scheduled co-principal John Woods. comment.q in the northwest coastal
town of Aguadilla.q