Haiti calm after presidential appeal

Peace returned to Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince after volatile protests against the first-round presidential election results.

Bulldozers cleared the remains of burned-out barricades and other debris, evidence of the anger that erupted throughout the day.

The outgoing president Rene Preval had appealed for calm.

“Don’t forget that while there is an electoral crisis, there is another serious crisis called cholera,” he said. “You should know that each time the ambulance cannot go to someone, there is a person who dies. Each time someone cannot go to a health centre, there are people who die.”

The rioting stemmed from supporters of the popular singer Michel Martelly. They are angry that he narrowly missed a place in the second round of voting. They allege that Jude Celestin, a protege of Preval, is only in the run-off because the vote was rigged.

Rioters torched the HQ of the president’s ruling coalition after doubts about the vote were expressed by the UN, the United States and the EU.

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