HAITI: UN CALLS FOR WIDEST POSSIBLE PARTICIPATION IN UPCOMING SENATE ELECTIONS

HAITI: UN CALLS FOR WIDEST POSSIBLE PARTICIPATION IN UPCOMING SENATE ELECTIONS
New York, Feb 9 2009 1:10PM
The United Nations mission in Haiti has called for the widest possible participation of all political currents in April polls for a third of the Senate, stressing that this is the best way to ensure the credibility and universal acceptance of the results in the impoverished Caribbean country.

"Such an approach will also enable these elections to take place freely and equitably and reinforce the progress achieved by Haiti on the road to political and social stability," the mission, known by its French acronym <"http://www.un.org/depts/dpko/missions/minustah/">MINUSTAH, said in a news release.

One of the tasks of MINUSTAH, set up in 2004 to help re-establish peace after an insurgency forced President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to go into exile, is to support the electoral process with regard to security and logistics, and the mission welcomed the progress made so far in preparing for the vote, including the Provisional Electoral Council's approval of 33 political parties.

"All efforts must be deployed in ensuring that these preparations can continue on the basis of a transparent and inclusive process," MINUSTAH said, noting that the UN Security Council has called for all-inclusive political dialogue.

"It is in this spirit that MINUSTAH calls on all concerned parties to work together in a climate of peace, openness and tolerance, so as to permit and guarantee the widest possible participation by election day on 19 April," it added.
Feb 9 2009 1:10PM
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