Counting is under way in Haiti’s long delayed election.
But the country’s electoral authorities don’t expect to have preliminary results for another eight days.
To safeguard voting in a country with a history of electoral violence, around 13,000 officers from the national police and the United Nations have been mobilized.
Haiti has been waiting to vote in a presidential poll since 2015, when an election was annulled over fraud allegations, and postponed last month when Hurricane Matthew hit.
Some pics from #Haitielections pic.twitter.com/6YR8r9USv9— Gerardo de Icaza (@gerardodeicaza) November 20, 2016
Although there have been a number of reports of voting irregularities, observers said the poll had been carried out smoothly.
There are more than two dozen candidates running to succeed former president Michel Martelly, who left the country in the hands of a caretaker government in February.
The main front runner is a local businessman, Jovenel Moise who is from the same party as Martelly.
Unless one candidate secures more than 50 percent of the vote or wins by at least 25 percentage points, a second round run-off is in prospect for the top two finishers on Jan. 29. The victor is scheduled to take office in February.
It’s refreshing to see polling stations run by teams of women. This is in Cabaret. #HaitiElections pic.twitter.com/ZcSeEXwOqk— Nicole Phillips (@BuddhistLawyer) November 20, 2016
Whoever wins will have the task of tackling corruption and rebuilding the country devastated by the 2010 earthquake and last month’s hurricane which left more than a million people in need of humanitarian aid.
