Supporting Dialogue in Haiti.

• Author: Conaway, Janelle
• Position: Brief Article

IN AN ADDRESS to the OAS Permanent Council last March, Haiti's minister of foreign affairs, Joseph Philippe Antonio, said his visit was part of his country's "search for a consensual solution" to the political crisis stemming from Haiti's May 2000 legislative elections.

The results of those elections have been rejected by the political opposition in that country and questioned by many observers. The OAS, which had sent observers for the first round of voting, decided not to observe the second round. It cited a number of irregularities in the first ballot, including the method used to calculate the percentages of votes obtained by the candidates for the Senate seats. The OAS observation mission said this method of calculation was not in accordance with Haiti's Constitution and electoral law.

During his visit to the OAS, Antonio presented a new calendar for legislative elections. He also said his government had already implemented a number of measures to help resolve the situation, in keeping with commitments that President Jean-Bertrand Aristide had made in a letter to then-U.S. president Bill Clinton last December.

Antonio asked for the continued assistance of the OAS in facilitating an effective dialogue in Haiti.

The Permanent Council passed a...