Protesters riot in Haiti ahead of presidential vote

(Image credit: Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images)

In Port-au-Prince, Haiti, demonstrators took to the streets on Monday, setting cars on fire and burning tires to protest an upcoming second-round presidential vote.

"We are at the end of our tether and yes, we will use violence because we must respond to their violence against our rights," protester Joseph Onsy told Agence France-Presse. On Oct. 25, government-backed candidate Jovanel Moise came out ahead of opposition candidate Jude Celestin during a first-round vote, but an independent electoral commission later found numerous cases of fraud and irregularities. It was determined that 60 percent of poll workers were unable to properly do their jobs, and the Provisional Electoral Council decided to push back the second-round presidential vote from Dec. 27 to Jan. 24. Opposition members said this was still too soon, and called the first-round vote an "electoral coup" by President Michel Martelly, who under the constitution cannot run for a second consecutive term. Celestin told AFP he will not participate in the Jan. 24 election unless reforms take place, and is not campaigning.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.