Commenting on the sanctity of the family, the president delivers a clear message in the song, "Pap Divoce," for which his cabinet has already delivered an entertaining video. [Mickey] has taken note of the disposition of the nation's young in regard to Haiti's current state and delivered a very club friendly response in the melodious "Non, non, non". Presidential advisor Wyclef Jean makes a bullet-riddled entrance in "Men nou" that should have dedicated supporters either rushing for shelter or the nearest ballot box. Djazz La Vol. 5 is probably the very best effort this talented drummer/producer has ever released.
Although wide sectors of the Haitian population continue to doubt that the general elections will take place on the announced dates, in a matter of just a few weeks, the Provisional Electoral Council (French acronym CEP), even facing a blatant lack of preparation, is determined to arouse the citizens' enthusiasm for the upcoming ballot. Having remained on the sidelines for a long time, because they doubted the will of the former to set in motion a flawless process, the political parties rushed to get in line, cramming themselves into the building complex of the electoral body, as if they were in a real race against the clock. This stage having been finally crossed, the hour of truth has inevitably come for the CEP. It is almost incredible that we have arrived at this juncture, indeed, after all the procrastination, the bungling and the stumbling, as well as the tug-of-war which was going on freely within the Provisional Electoral Council. After this long journey, the efforts undertaken and the large sums of money invested, both by the international community and by the temporary government, in order to start the process, and accompany it up to this last phase, to allow the CEP to falter would amount to treacherousness, even to treason, which certainly would discredit the members of the electoral body both individually and collectively.
In spite of an acceleration of the registration process of the voters recorded recently, the 2.4 million registered voters, from a number of approximately 4.2 million citizens of voting age, continues to show a lack of enthusiasm. Such concerns are evident, in certain cases, by the absence of Voter Registration Bureaus (VRB) in hundreds of communal sections; or by the controversial creation of Communal Electoral Bureaus (CEB) and Departmental Electoral Bureaus (DEB). In addition, the dysfunction of the CEB and the DEB triggered protests from numerous candidates. It's also worth noting the installation of Candidates Registration Bureaus (CRB), on September 11th, which should have been functional since September 5th. Keeping in mind that the registration of candidates comes to an end September 15th, it's worth wondering what conjuring the CEP will do in order to achieve the registration of about 7, 733 posts to be provided for every party, on a total of 45 approved parties.
To me, it's a miracle that elections are even being held in Haiti this fall. It's a wonder that such an expression of democracy even exists after the last two years the country has been through. My greatest concern isn't fraud, it's whether or not there will be bloodshed. Also, whether or not enough eligible voters will make it to the polls in order to make Haiti's elections legitimate. News reports coming from Hurricane Rita's brutal assault on the U.S.'s Gulf Coast indicate that mercifully, there was no loss of life as a direct result of the hurricane. My prayer is that the same will be said about the upcoming Haitian elections. I need to remind myself that Hurricane Rita was not man-made, but elections are. Honestly, I have more confidence in a "God thing" than in something that's "man's doing." On the other hand, I do believe that just as God controls the world's weather systems, He can also control Haiti's elections. The second piece of evidence that things haven't changed all that much in Haiti Chen was the report that shipments of food and aid to the victims of last year's Gonaives flood are still sitting in the Port of Port-au-Prince because of bureaucratic "red tape." In other words, someone wants a bribe that relief agencies aren't willing to pay. This is horrendous and absolutely intolerable! Something's gotta change.
