Jovenel Moise has been certified as the winner of Haiti's presidential election after a tribunal said it found no evidence of massive fraud. Political disputes have left the island politically paralyzed for over a year.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/H. Retamal
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Businessman Jovenel Moise will be sworn in as Haiti's new president next month after an election tribunal rejected allegations of massive voter fraud during November's elections.
On Tuesday, Haiti's election tribunal announced that "there was no massive fraud in the election" despite there being recorded instances of "irregularities which did not affect the electoral process."
Moise is expected to take office by the constitutional deadline on February 7. A successful banana exporter and first-time candidate, he ran for former President Michel Martelly's Tet Kale (PHTK) party. He won more than 55 percent of votes cast in the November 20 election.
However, several campaign rivals challenged the result, including supporters of Maryse Narcisse, the candidate put forward by ex-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas Party.
November's first-round election was a repeat of the October 2015 election, which Moise also won. That result was later annulled, however, after a special commission found significant voter fraud. Haiti has been led by interim president Jocelerme Privert since February 2016.
Protests continue
Opponents of Moise have repeatedly claimed they would never accept the PHTK candidate's victory.
After Tuesday's announcement, Narcisse supporters marched in the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, to protest the electoral tribunal's decision. At the same time, supporters of Moise posted photos and posters of the winning candidate.
According to The Associated Press news agency, there were no reports of significant violence between the different political camps.
Challenges ahead
Significant challenges lie ahead for Moise once he takes office. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. With an economy highly dependent on agriculture, the island nation has been severely impacted by a series of devastating natural disasters.
The country is still reeling after Hurricane Matthew, a Category 4 storm, tore through the island in October, killing up to 1,000 people and leaving 1.4 million in need of humanitarian aid. The UN has estimated that around 80 percent of crops have been lost in some areas.
Haiti was still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake, which killed more than 100,000 people, when the hurricane hit.
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."
