Preval's lead slips below majority required

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Rene Preval held a commanding lead but slipped below the majority of votes needed to avoid a runoff as counting continued for a fourth day Saturday in Haiti's presidential elections.

Preval was leading with 49.61 percent of the vote followed by former President Leslie Manigat with 11 percent and industrialist Charles Baker with 8 percent. Final results were expected Sunday.

About 70 percent of an estimated 2.2 million votes have been counted, said Jacques Bernard, director general of the Provisional Electoral Counsel. The winning candidate needs 50 percent plus one vote to avoid a March runoff with the second-place finisher.

The possibility of a runoff threatened to plunge Haiti into renewed violence as thousands of Preval supporters marched Saturday in scattered demonstrations in the capital city, demanding a Preval victory announcement. Bernard and other nervous election officials urged patience after failing to meet a Saturday deadline for results.

The country remained largely calm while elections officials said they were simply overwhelmed by a huge and unexpected turnout of at least 2.2 million voters.

"Don't let politicians manipulate you to make disorder. The final results will come," elections official Rosemond Pradel told listeners on Haitian radio. The former Pembroke Pines, Fla., resident, who returned to Haiti to help run the elections council, urged citizens not to demonstrate until final results were released.

In one demonstration, hundreds of chanting demonstrators marched peacefully around the slum of Bel Aire on Saturday afternoon for about an hour, chanting "Lespwa! Lespwa!" or "The Hope," the name of Preval's political party. Preval supporters held meetings in several slums like Cite Soleil urging calm, even as they voiced concerns over a runoff.

In another march, pro-Preval demonstrators briefly chanted in front of the Presidential Palace, then ripped up large posters of 32 other candidates on the palace fence, leaving only Preval's picture. "What is taking so long? They told us there would be results Saturday," said Jean Philip, a Preval organizer in Bel Aire. "I think they're trying to steal the vote."

Cedras Sorel, 42, said the situation could turn violent even with a runoff. "I don't believe he (Preval) is just barely winning. We want a president now, not another election in which the bourgeoisie can cheat," said the mechanic, referring to upper classes who have long controlled Haiti's politics.

Other demonstrators complained about Preval's steadily shrinking lead. Preval led with 65 percent of the votes when partial results were first released on Thursday and seemed headed toward an overwhelming first-round victory. But that lead narrowed considerably with Friday's results, leading some to think elections officials were trying to fix the vote.

The explanation revolves around nullified votes and a mix of favorite son candidates in some regions of the country who are drawing votes away from Preval, election officials said. About 7.6 percent of the ballots counted so far have been rejected, prompting some calls for an investigation.

International election observers said there were plenty of signs of poor management and disorganization at the polls, but no signs of a widespread fraud. Ballots were nullified in some cases because X's were placed over a candidate's face rather than in a box, while others were filled out improperly by voters who were likely illiterate.