the world as we write it

smiley status'

    eat my Twitter?

    The Black Rider

    authentic since 1981 'welcome to my bomboclot mind'

    Friday, August 20, 2010

    Why Clef?

    Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

    Reuter site - Wyclef Jean rejected as Haiti candidate

    This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
    http://mobile.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE67K08D20100821

    Wyclef Jean rejected as Haiti candidate

    Fri, Aug 20 23:35 PM EDT

    By Joseph Guyler Delva

    PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haiti's provisional electoral council ruled on Friday that hip-hop star Wyclef Jean did not meet a residency requirement to run as a presidential candidate in the nation's November 28 election.

    Singer-songwriter Jean, 40, an international celebrity who is popular in his impoverished and earthquake-ravaged homeland, was rejected from the list of approved candidates read aloud by the council on Friday night.

    Jean was among 34 presidential candidates vying for a spot in the election to choose a successor to President Rene Preval, who cannot run again after two terms. The council approved 19 candidates and rejected 15.

    Jean said the council had ruled he did not meet the requirement that presidential candidates maintain five consecutive years of residency in Haiti prior to running.

    He issued a statement saying he respectfully disagreed with the council's decision but accepted it and urged his supporters to do likewise.

    "We must all honor the memories of those we've lost -- whether in the earthquake, or at any time -- by responding peacefully and responsibly to this disappointment," Jean said.

    "I want to assure my countrymen that I will continue to work for Haiti's renewal; though the board has determined that I am not a resident of Haiti, home is where the heart is -- and my heart has and will always be in Haiti."

    Jean, who left his impoverished homeland with his family to live in New York at the age of 9 and launched his music career in the United States, had presented arguments his lawyers said showed a "constant presence."

    Among those approved to run were:

    -Two-time Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis

    -Leslie Voltaire, a U.S.-educated urban planner and former minister

    -Yvon Neptune, another former prime minister who served under former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide

    -Well-known opposition leader and former first lady Mirlande Manigat

    -Jude Celestin, the former head of the government's road-building outfit.

    U.N. and Haitian police guarded the provisional electoral council headquarters in Port-au-Prince to prevent any trouble as feverish expectations mounted over which contenders would be on the confirmed list to run.

    It was feared that Jean's exclusion and that of other contenders from the electoral race on legal grounds could stir political tensions and even possible violence.

    Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, is struggling to recover from the devastating January 12 earthquake that killed up to 300,000 people.

    (Writing by Jane Sutton, editing by Vicki Allen)

    About Me

    My photo
    If you know me then you know my name. I am The Black Rider and the world is my Flame. The rider writes, observes, creates, produces, and learns the world around him. Ride on. Ride on!

    The Remnants

    Powered By Blogger