Haitian lawmakers meet to elect interim president

Haitian lawmakers were set to elect an interim president Saturday to fill the power vacuum following the departure of Michel Martelly, after a vote to choose his replacement was postponed over fears of violence. Thirteen candidates applied to run in the election Saturday but only three paid the fee of 500,000 gourdes (about $8,400) and will participate. Dejan Belizaire and Edgar Leblanc Fils are former presidents of the Senate. The third candidate, Jocelerme Privert, is the current president of the National Assembly. Under an agreement signed hours before the end of Martelly's five-year term on February 7, parliament will elect an interim president to serve for up to 120 days. The agreement sets a new election for April 24, with a new president installed May 14, though Privert has stressed those were only proposed dates. A January 24 runoff between Martelly's favored candidate, Jovenel Moise, and opposition flag-bearer Jude Celestin, was called off following violence and opposition protests by demonstrators alleging that foul play had helped the government candidate take the first round. The transitional government has already attracted its share of criticism. The plan to elect an interim president by indirect vote angered opponents who have protested the electoral process for months. Several hundred demonstrators marched in Port-au-Prince on Friday, criticizing the poll in parliament as an illegal process. Some lawmakers also questioned the legitimacy of Privert's candidacy. "Stop the parliamentary coup d'etat," lawmaker Gary Bodeau said. "Parliament cannot be judge and jury ... the process is not impartial." A potential long-term power vacuum is the latest challenge for the Caribbean country that is the poorest in the Americas. Thirty years after the end of the Duvalier dictatorship, Haiti is still struggling to hold credible elections that would boost development and raise the standard of living for the 60 percent of the population living below the poverty line.