After months of setbacks, polls have opened in Haiti for voting in presidential elections. Leaders hope the vote will restore constitutional order in the Caribbean nation's fragile democracy.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/H. Retamal
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Haiti has been repeatedly delaying the presidential vote since last year's election was annulled. Jovenel Moise, a member of ex-President Michel Martelly's party, won the election's first round, but the results were disputed by the losing candidates.
Anger over the results led to violent unrest in the streets, which in turn led to the second-round run-off election being called off in spite of US pressure to go through with the vote.
Jocelerme Privert, who was chosen to serve as Haiti's interim president after Martelly stepped down, said he would remain in power until a new president was elected.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/H. Retamal
Missing registration cards
In June, Haiti's electoral council set the new election date to be October 9, arguing that the previous election had been tainted by more than 600,000 untraceable votes.
The election was postponed again, however, after Hurricane Matthew hit on October 4. According to Haiti's civil protection agency, the category four hurricane killed at least 546 people. The havoc caused by the storm also led many registered voters to lose their voter registration cards.
Haiti reels after Hurricane Matthew
Hurricane Matthew has moved on, but people from Haiti to the US are still dealing with its deadly aftereffects. Around a million Haitians are in need of urgent assistance.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/H. Retamal
Path of destruction
Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007, has been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone and is headed back out to sea. But its rampage across the Caribbean and up the US coastline has left a trail of destruction, particularly in southwest Haiti. High winds, torrential rains and flooding there killed hundreds of people, with some estimates putting the death toll at 1,000.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/D.N. Chery
Stretched thin
Electricity is out through much of the region hit by the storm in Haiti, and water and food are scarce. Hospital resources are stretched thin, with basic resources like cars and ambulances lacking. Many patients have been carried in for treatment, sometimes for miles.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Barria
Cholera fears
As the cleanup continues, cholera remains a concern in the country already suffering from severe food insecurity and malnutrition. A lack of clean water in rural communities has led to a sharp increase in the waterborne illness, which causes severe diarrhea. A cholera outbreak after the 2010 earthquake, accidentally introduced by UN peacekeepers, has led to more than 10,000 deaths.
Image: Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares
'Still deadly'
After tearing through Haiti, the storm swept up the southeast coast of the US, flooding coastal communities and causing considerable damage. To date, the storm has been linked to at least 17 deaths in the US. But with rising floodwaters, authorities fear more victims. "Hurricane Matthew is off the map. But it is still with us. And it is still deadly," said North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/E. Gay
'Humanitarian crisis'
On Monday, the UN called for $119 million (107 million euros) to provide food, shelter and clean drinking water to the roughly 750,000 people directly hit by the hurricane in Haiti. "Hurricane Matthew has resulted in the largest humanitarian crisis in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake," it said in a statement. Countries like the US, the Netherlands and Bolivia have already shipped in supplies.
Around 1 million Haitians are in need of urgent assistance, according to the NGO Care-France, and the UN has estimated that up to 80 percent of crops have been lost in some areas. US President Barack Obama has urged people to donate the Red Cross or other charities, stressing that the people of Haiti will "need help rebuilding."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Barria
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Some 27 candidates are vying for the presidency in the country, which, prior to Matthew, was already suffering from food shortages and the fallout over the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Polls are due to close at 4 p.m. The new run-off election is set to take place on January 8, 2017.
