Haitian Electoral Commission Rejects Jean, Others

The Haitian electoral commission late Friday rejected Wyclef Jean and 14 other candidates for president in the November election.  Jean said he would appeal the ruling, although it's not clear that the ruling can be appealed.  The Christian Science Monitor reports here; the New York Times reports here.

As we posted just before the commission issued its ruling, Jean's qualifications were in doubt because, according to some, his frequent travels outside Haiti meant that he failed to satisfy the Haitian constitutional requirement that a candidate reside within the country for five consecutive years prior to the election.  Jean argued that he traveled as a goodwill ambassador for Haiti but maintained residence in the country and thus satisfied the five-year residency requirement.

The commission didn't say why it rejected Jean and the 14 others, including Haiti's ambassador to the U.S., Raymond Joseph.

SDS