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Haiti's delayed presidential election takes place | Haiti's delayed presidential election takes place |
(about 5 hours later) | |
The people of Haiti finally went to the polls on Sunday to vote in a general election which was delayed for more than a year amid allegations of fraud. | |
Officials have begun the time-consuming process of counting paper ballots, with no results expected for eight days. | |
The Caribbean nation was choosing a new president and lawmakers. | |
The results of the October 2015 vote were thrown out, creating a power vacuum when then-president Michel Martelly's mandate expired in February. | The results of the October 2015 vote were thrown out, creating a power vacuum when then-president Michel Martelly's mandate expired in February. |
Haiti has suffered from decades of corruption and, in recent years, a series of crippling natural disasters. | Haiti has suffered from decades of corruption and, in recent years, a series of crippling natural disasters. |
Voter turnout appeared low in south-western Haiti, according to reports - an area ravaged by Hurricane Matthew last month and drenched by rain on Sunday. | |
In the capital, Port-au-Prince, voters queued from early in the morning to to cast their ballots. | |
"This is my responsibility as a citizen," Alain Joseph, a motorcycle taxi driver in the city, told the Associated Press. | |
Helene Olivier, 72, said she was inspired to vote for the first time in the hope that a woman would win. Two of the 27 candidates on the ballot were women. | |
Hurricane Matthew left hundreds of people dead and destroyed thousands of homes. | |
Many are still living in temporary accommodation, including in schools which were due to be used as polling stations on Sunday. | |
There is hope among Haitians that the election may kick-start the process of rebuilding the disaster-hit nation. | |
"[I want] for everyone to come together, for the country to be rebuilt," Judeline Hubert, a 23-year-old nursing student from the south-western port of Les Cayes, told Reuters. | "[I want] for everyone to come together, for the country to be rebuilt," Judeline Hubert, a 23-year-old nursing student from the south-western port of Les Cayes, told Reuters. |
The new president is expected to take over from Jocelerme Privert, the interim president, in February, following a possible second-round vote between the top two candidates in January. | The new president is expected to take over from Jocelerme Privert, the interim president, in February, following a possible second-round vote between the top two candidates in January. |
The vote was monitored by the United Nations. |