Boycott keeps Haiti polls quiet
Clear-plastic ballot boxes were nearly as empty as Port-au-Prince’s unusually deserted streets Sunday as few voters turned out for Senate elections in which candidates from a major populist party were not allowed to run. The vote had been seen as a key step in the development of Haitian democracy and in President Rene Preval’s bid to retool the constitution and fight poverty. The international community gave Haiti’s government $12.5 million to coordinate the elections, including $3 million from the United States.Full Story