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WORLD NEWSMonday 18 January 2016
Boycotting candidate says Jan. 24 runoff will set Haiti back
DAVID McFADDEN endorsed the Oct. 25 first
round, recently called on
Associated Press the two runoff candidates
to “participate actively” in
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti the vote.
Moise is holding rallies and
(AP) — Haiti’s opposition broadcasting ads, but Ce-
lestin has declined to cam-
candidate for president paign.
is warning that if a runoff Electoral council officials
say Celestin’s name and
is held next weekend as photo will still appear on
ballots Jan. 24 because
scheduled it will be a big he never officially with-
drew from the race, while
step back for the country’s the candidate asserts they
have no right to do so with-
fragile democracy and out his authorization.
Celestin said U.S. State
lead to increased turmoil in Department Counselor
Thomas Shannon and the
the sharply divided nation. U.S. special coordinator for
Haiti did not pressure him
In an interview with The to campaign during a re-
cent meeting in Haiti. But
Associated Press, Jude they made it clear they
wished to see a transfer of
Celestin said he has such power Feb. 7, when Mar-
telly is due to leave office.
deep concerns about The 53-year-old engineer
told AP he believes the
vote-rigging and a lack international community
is “too involved” in Haiti’s
of transparency by Haiti’s elections. He accused out-
siders of hypocrisy for over-
Provisional Electoral Coun- looking electoral problems
in Haiti that they would
cil that he is boycotting a never tolerate in their own
countries.q
Jan. 24 presidential runoff.
His party will not send any
monitors to polling stations.
“We are moving toward a Jude Celestin, the LAPEH party presidential candidate, speaks during an interview at his office in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016. Celestin, a 53-year-old engineer, said he has such
selection, not an election,” deep concerns about vote-rigging and a lack of transparency by Haiti’s Provisional Electoral
Council that he is boycotting a Jan. 24 presidential runoff. His party will not send any monitors to
Celestin said Saturday in polling stations.
his Port-au-Prince political (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
office,
which was unadorned ex-
cept for some voting dis- made a runoff after a con- This time around, Celestin petitive race in elections
tested first round, his rivals leads an opposition alli- they are largely funding.
trict maps taped to the alleged that Preval had ance alleging widespread The United Nations, the
rigged the vote. Celestin fraud in favor of ruling party United States and the OAS
wall. was eventually eliminated candidate Jovenel Moise, say they support holding
from the race amid street current President Michel the final round this month
In the 2010 campaign, the protests as well as pressure Martelly’s chosen succes- so a transfer of power can
from Washington and the sor. He is ignoring appeals take place by a Feb. 7
soft-spoken technocrat Organization of American by the United States and constitutional deadline.
States. other countries for a com- The OAS, whose observers
was the heir-apparent to
then-President Rene Pre-
val, making him the tar-
get of virtually every other
candidate. When Celestin
Venezuela president gets rare blast of live TV criticism
HANNAH DREIER broadcast live across the The government’s Central He devoted most of his fee cup and checked his
South American country Bank, which had kept key three-hour speech to what watch in the next chair.
Associated Press this weekend — unprec- economic indicators to it- he called a “monstrous at- “If you give in to the desire
edented media access for self for more than a year, tack” on the economy by to have more and more
CARACAS, Venezuela an opponent of the coun- dumped a batch of new business owners and other bolivars with the same
try’s socialist revolution. bad news earlier in the day. foes of the leftist govern- number of dollars,
(AP) — President Nicolas Neither Maduro nor his pre- It said the country’s econ- ment, blaming them for your bolivars are going to
decessor, the late President omy contracted by 7.1 most of the inflation and lose value,” Ramos said,
Maduro first declared an Hugo Chavez, had ever percent during the quarter shortages. referring to the country’s
contended with a hostile that ended in September Ramos took a professorial plummeting currency.
economic emergency due audience for a speech to 2015, and inflation reached tone in rebuttal, saying that The sight of an opposition
Congress, 141.5 percent. Maduro and Chavez them- leader lecturing the presi-
to “catastrophic” inflation but foes of the administra- Maduro described the selves are responsible for dent on a live television
tion took control of the insti- numbers as “catastrophic” the crisis. feed all networks were re-
and growth figures and tution last week for the first as he defended an emer- “If you don’t want to quired to carry shocked
time in 17 years, carried to gency declaration giving hear this, close your ears even ardent supporters of
then endured the indignity victory on a wave of eco- him 60 days to unilaterally or leave,” he warned as the sharp-tonged new con-
nomic turmoil. enact sweeping decrees. Maduro sipped from a cof- gressional leader.q
of a nationally televised
scolding from the head of
a newly empowered op-
position Congress.
Congress leader Henry
Ramos wagged his finger
inches from the president’s
head in a state-of-the-
nation rebuttal that was
