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Presidential elections to usher change in Haiti, Ivory Coast and Tanzania
National elections took place Sunday in a number of countries. Here are the highlights:
Haiti:
The successor to outgoing President Michel Martelly, is expected to be one of two candidates: Jude Célestin, 53, a mechanical engineer who heads the LAPEH Party (Alternative League for Progress and Emancipation of Haiti) and who previously headed a government construction agency; or Jovenel Moïse, who is the owner of a banana exporting business in the north of the country. Moïse, 37, represents the ruling Parti Haitien Tet Kale (Haitian Party of Bald Heads), named after Martelly’s famously smooth scalp.
Martelly, a popular singer, shook up the political order with his election victory in 2011 as the country was still reeling from a devastating earthquake. But critics say he failed to halt to corruption and political infighting.
Celestin and Moïse are neck and neck in the polls, among more than 50 candidates in total.
Voters in Haiti faced lengthy ballots featuring 54 presidential hopefuls and a slew of legislative and municipal candidates Sunday as they selected leaders they hope can lift the nation out of chronic poverty and turbulence.
The presidential field was so crowded and confusing that there was little clarity about who might be leading after voting ended and tallying of paper ballots began. Pre-election polls were unreliable and contradictory, and electoral officials said partial results were not expected for at least 10 days.
Ivory Coast:
Ivory Coast voters headed to the polls on Sunday in the country’s first presidential election since a disputed vote 5 years ago triggered disturbances.
Incumbent President Alassane Ouattara is widely expected to prevail over a divided opposition and perhaps secure enough votes to avoid a run-off. Three members of an original roster of 10 candidates have withdrawn from the process citing doubts about the vote’s fairness.
In 2010, Ouattara defeated incumbent Laurent Gbagbo who refused to concede, sparking the worst disturbances the country had experienced since independence.
Tanzania:
Tanzanians turned out in large numbers Sunday to vote in general elections in which the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, a dominant force for decades, faces a strong challenge from a united opposition.
Many analysts believe the presidential race is too close to predict. The ruling party’s candidate, Works Minister John Magufuli, is battling former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa, who defected to the opposition earlier this year after being rejected as the ruling party’s candidate.
Lowassa, 62, was prime minister in outgoing President Jakaya Kikwete’s government from 2005 to 2008, but was forced to resign by a corruption scandal.
Magufuli, 55, is widely seen as a corruption-free, effective public servant who could improve the ruling party’s image in the eyes of ordinary people fed up with state graft.
Voters Sunday also chose lawmakers for the country’s parliament and local officials.
Source: Associated Press