Haiti

In February 2006 Haiti held presidential elections. The two leading candidates were former Haitian presidents Leslie Manigat, who held office for four months in 1988, and René Préval, who was president from 1996 to 2001, in between Aristide’s two terms. As in the previous presidential election, the voting was marred by allegations of fraud and misconduct. Préval eventually emerged as the victor, collecting just more than 51 percent of the vote, although not before election officials threw out about 85,000 blank ballots, an action that negated a potential runoff vote. As president, Préval faces the daunting task of repairing the political, economic, and social foundations of the impoverished country.