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WORLD NEWSSaturday 24 October 2015

Aristide makes rare public appearance for Haiti elections

Haiti’s former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, left, waves to supporters as he campaigns with rebellion, waved to thou- less resident of the impov-
presidential candidate Maryse Narcisse, of the Fanmi Lavalas political party, in Cite Soleil, Port- sands through the sunroof erished area where offi-
au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. Sunday’s vote is expected to clear the sprawling presiden- of a car, eventually arriving cials say pre-election vio-
tial field for a runoff on Dec. 27 between the top two finishers. at a huge seaside slum that lence resulted in about 15
was once a stronghold of deaths in recent days, ran
(AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) support for him. He stood alongside the car carrying
alongside Maryse Narcisse, Aristide and Narcisse as it
DANICA COTO tion, former President Jean- political party he founded leader of the Fanmi Lava- wound through the pitted
Associated Press Bertrand Aristide emerged decades ago. las faction and one of over streets.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) from his home Friday to Aristide, who remains a 50 candidates vying to “We want to eat and we
— On the last day of cam- drive along the streets of popular and divisive figure lead Haiti for the next five want work. We are suffer-
paigning for the first round Haiti’s capital with the can- more than a decade since years. ing,” he said, explaining
of Haiti’s presidential elec- didate of the splintered he was ousted in a violent The country will hold the why he backed the Lava-
first-round presidential vote las party.
Sunday along with ballot- It’s not the first time Aristide
ing for numerous legislative has publicly endorsed Nar-
races and local offices. The cisse, even though he said
broad array of candidates he would not get involved
had until midnight Friday to in politics upon his return
wrap up campaigning. to Haiti in 2011 after seven
In the slum of Cite Soleil, years of exile.
thousands cheered for Earlier this month, he ap-
Aristide as they jumped peared in front of his home
on motorcycles, crammed to urge thousands of peo-
into pickup trucks and ple to vote for her. But Fri-
even jogged to keep up day’s street campaigning
with the caravan. Some was still a rare public ap-
shouted, “The king is here!” pearance for Aristide, who
while others pointed to has mostly kept out sight at
Narcisse’s picture and his gated home since re-
yelled, “This is our mother!” turning to Haiti.
Meteayer Mendy, a job- Josef Nazere said he drove
to Cite Soleil to get a peek
Brazil seizes house speaker’s alleged kickback cash at Aristide because he has
been a longtime Lavalas
M. SAVARESE to win building contracts of the speaker’s opposition so far has not been impli- supporter. “It’s the party
Associated Press with Petrobras. to Rousseff. cated in the scandal. that knows the pain of the
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Cunha, a self-proclaimed Federal prosecutors say the Still, the president, with ap- Haitian people,” he said.
Brazil Supreme Court seized enemy of Rousseff, denies Petrobras kickback scan- proval ratings hovering Political analysts say Nar-
$2.45 million in Swiss ac- that the accounts in the dal is the largest ever un- around just 10 percent, is cisse is not one of the top
counts allegedly belong- Julius Baer bank are his. But covered in Brazil, with over fending off widespread three presidential candi-
ing to the speaker of Brazil’s documents sent by Swiss $2 billion paid in bribes to calls for her impeachment dates.
lower house of congress, prosecutors link him and his politically appointed ex- or for her resignation over During the last election
a powerful political figure wife to the money, Justice ecutives at the company the Petrobras scandal, al- cycle, the faction was
who can largely determine Teori Zavascki wrote in his along with upward of 50 legations of fiscal wrong- barred from the ballot and
whether widely sought im- Thursday decision to seize sitting politicians and oth- doing during her first term one-time influential mem-
peachment proceedings the funds. ers in the political class who in office and allegations bers are now candidates
against President Dilma If investigations show allegedly took part in the the campaign coffers for leading other political plat-
Rousseff are introduced on Cunha’s accounts were scheme that ran for over a her re-election run last year forms.
the chamber floor. filled by cash coming from decade. CEOs and other were stuffed with kickback As the crowd followed Aris-
Eduardo Cunha, speaker of corruption schemes, the executives from top con- money. tide and Narcisse’s car into
the Chamber of Deputies, is funds will be returned to struction and engineering Despite the corruption the night, another crowd
facing corruption charges Brazil’s treasury. The re- firms who allegedly took charges facing Cunha, he began to gather at the
in a huge kickback scheme quest to seize the money part are in prison. is “likely to stay in office” for Champ de Mars park in
at state-run oil company was made by Brazilian At- Rousseff herself served as a while, said Claudio Cou- downtown Port-au-Prince
Petrobras. He is accused of torney General Rodrigo chairwoman of Petrobras to, a political science pro- for a rally featuring hip-hop
accepting millions in bribes Janot, who Cunha accuses during much of the time fessor at the Getulio Vargas star Wyclef Jean and Jude
in arranging for companies of targeting him because the graft played out, but as Foundation.q Celestin, one of Haiti’s top
presidential candidates. q