Mass demonstrations erupted in Port-au-Prince as burning tire barricades paralyzed the city, and at least one person was shot dead Feb. 13 in demonstrations following Feb 7 presidential elections.

The crowd accused UN peacekeepers of shooting the man, but the United Nations denied that peacekeepers opened fire on the crowd and said their soldiers fired into the air. The peacekeepers said the man was shot by someone in the crowd.

In a third day of primarily peaceful demonstrations, several hundred protesters calling for recognition of the victory of presidential candidate Rene Preval, burst into an upscale hotel that served as an election press center in the hills of the Petionville neighborhood.

Protesters said electoral officials were tampering with results to prevent Preval from winning 51 percent of the vote, which is needed to prevent a second round of elections; his lead had dropped from 60 percent to 48 percent.

The protesters' hotel invasion caused concerns about the safety of Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was unable to leave the hotel to take a domestic flight to the northern city of Cap Haitien . The archbishop addressed the somewhat rowdy crowd, which calmed down and left.

Archbishop Tutu, a Nobel laureate and retired Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, arrived in Haiti Feb 11 at the invitation of the Peace and Tolerance Initiative, launched by the Organisation of American States Special Mission and the Haitian bishops' conference. Archbishop Tutu said he had come to “tell Haitians that they are sons and daughters of God.”

At a Feb 12 ecumenical service at the Port-au-Prince Anglican cathedral, Archbishop Tutu told Haitians that God has not forgotten them and will never forget them. He praised Haitians for their peaceful conduct throughout the elections and called on them to continue peacefully.

The ecumenical service also was attended by Archbishop Mario Giordana, papal nuncio to Haiti , who read a message of support from Pope Benedict XVI; retired Bishop Francois Gayot of Cap Haitien , president of the government's National Dialogue Commission; and Port-au-Prince Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Lafontant.

During the demonstrations, Preval supporters chanted, “We already voted, we won't vote again,” referring to a runoff vote March 19, which looks increasingly likely although it has not been announced yet.

The Rev Chavannes Jeune, an evangelical Protestant pastor and a candidate who placed fourth in the race, called on electoral authorities to examine charges that the vote count has been rigged, and if so, accept a Preval victory.

As the count continued, two international electoral workers, who requested anonymity, described manipulation of the count as “practically impossible” because of the way the election software programme had been set up. However, some observers expressed questions about more than 147,000 null or blank votes, which represented nearly 7.5 percent of votes.

“Although some of the less literate may have had trouble with the ballot, it seems strange that so many people would wait in line for such a long time and then cast a blank or spoiled ballot,” an international observer said.

According to Haitian electoral law, Preval needs a majority of at least 51 percent to avoid the second election. As of the evening of Feb 13, with 90 percent of the votes counted, Preval had secured nearly 49 percent of the vote. In second place was former President Leslie Manigat with nearly 12 percent of the vote.

Preval, a 63-year-old agronomist, has widespread support among the poor, including inhabitants of the capital's dangerous slum area, Cité Soleil, which is run by armed gang leaders. Preval has pledged to promote a social rather than a military solution to the problems of Cité Soleil and the country's poor majority.

In his hometown of Marmelade, Preval has run an ambitious development programme, funded by the Taiwanese government, which has made basic health care and education accessible to inhabitants of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere .

Some have questions about his links to former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who is in exile in South Africa , and who, his opponents charge, originally armed the Cité Soleil gangs. Preval was handpicked by Aristide to run as the Lavalas Family party candidate in the 1996 elections, when the Haitian Constitution barred Aristide from a second term. He won in a landslide.

Today, although Preval is believed to have distanced himself from Aristide, many observers believe that if elected he could come under extreme pressure from the gang leaders who voted for him.

During the ecumenical service Feb 12, Bishop Lafontant indicated the Church would oppose amnesty for some gang leaders.

(CNS)