Port-au-Prince, Haiti
After intense backroom negotiations last week, election officials declared populist René Préval the next president of Haiti. The victory followed days of rioting over suspected fraud that would have forced Préval into a runoff election. Instead, officials agreed to change their criteria for tallying the votes and awarded Préval the presidency. Thousands of people danced in the streets following the announcement, singing, “Oh Préval, we have been waiting for you.” His main opponent, Charles Henri Baker, complained that mobs had forced the government’s hand, signaling “a somber future for democracy in Haiti.”
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