HAITI: Haiti's interim government agreed on Tuesday to review vote counts from the February 7th election, after presidential front-runner Rene Preval claimed that "massive fraud or gross errors" had deprived him of victory.
The agreement came after Mr Preval urged his supporters to continue protesting about the vote count, but to do so peacefully.
Blazing roadblocks that had paralysed the city for two days disappeared almost immediately after Mr Preval's nationally broadcast radio address, demonstrating his power to control the streets, and sending a signal to political opponents to concede his election. None complied.
Although sporadic gunfire crackled across the capital, the mood of demonstrators switched from menacing to merry.
"The people are frustrated and they have the right to demonstrate, but they should respect the rights of others," Mr Preval said from his campaign headquarters at his sister's hilltop villa.
Long a close ally of exiled president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Mr Preval inherited his mentor's impoverished followers but also their penchant for violent outbursts at perceived injustice.
While urging the ubiquitous mobs to keep up the pressure for review of what he contends are manipulated vote tabulations, Mr Preval warned his supporters to be wary of radical infiltrators bent on painting his Lespwa movement, which means "hope" in Creole, as violent and undemocratic.
Many of Haiti's poor probably voted for Mr Preval because they believe he will allow Mr Aristide to return from South Africa, where he has spent most of the past two years after fleeing an armed rebellion under US escort. Mr Preval, who served as president between Mr Aristide's two terms, has said nothing stands in the way of Mr Aristide's repatriation, but has been vague about whether he would welcome the fiery former priest's presence.
Official balloting results are not expected to be published for several days. Counting stopped on Sunday when protesters converged on the media centre at the Hotel Montana, where nightly press conferences had been used to announce a running tally.
When Mr Preval's margin began to slip below 50 per cent, protests began.
Thousands returned to the hotel on Monday to confront election officials, over-running security guards and damaging the hotel after discovering the election officials were not there.
The latest figures from the Provisional Electoral Council responsible for vote tabulation, posted at noon on Monday, showed Mr Preval just short of an outright majority among the 33 presidential contenders, with 48.76 per cent.
The nearest challenger was Leslie Manigat, who polled 11.8 per cent and so far has spurned suggestions that he concede victory to spare the country a costly and potentially chaotic run-off.
The third-place candidate, garment factory owner Charles Henri Baker, whose share stands at less than 8 per cent, also opposes any concession that would hasten Mr Preval's ascent to the National Palace.
Mr Baker (50), a member of the tiny, light-skinned elite that controls Haiti's economy, was one of Mr Aristide's most passionate adversaries.
Mr Preval, a 63-year-old gentleman farmer and entrepreneur, declined to discuss his reluctance to go into a second round of voting that nearly all analysts calculate he would win easily.
He insisted his campaign staff has evidence that he polled well over 50 per cent in the initial vote. However, neither he nor his aides would be specific about the discrepancies they claim to have uncovered.
"I don't want to say it's 60 per cent if it turns out to be 55 per cent. We have to check all the results again," said Liszt Quitel, an adviser who served in Mr Preval's cabinet during his first presidency from 1996 to 2001.
Campaign officials also intimated that vote tabulators hired by the council, whose nine-member board is comprised mostly of figures who opposed Mr Aristide, had inexplicably put aside counting votes from the massively pro-Preval capital.