Haiti Approval of Constitution Hailed
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The near-unanimous endorsement by Haiti’s electorate of a new constitution opens the way for this impoverished nation’s return to democracy, two prominent political leaders said Monday.
The Information Ministry said that unofficial returns from 649 of the 1,500 voting places showed 568,334 yes votes and 887 no ballots, a 99.97% margin in favor of the constitution.
“We have just crossed a key bridge which opens the road to democracy,” said Leslie Manigat, head of the middle-road National Progressive Democratic Party and a contender for the presidency.
Another major presidential candidate, Gregoire Eugene of the Social Democratic Party, said the vote showed that, even though eight out of every 10 Haitians can neither read nor write, they are “ready for democracy.”
He said it demonstrated that “illiteracy does not mean idiocy.”
The comments Monday of all observers, Haitian and foreign, agreed that the large turnout and overwhelming endorsement of the constitution provided a clear mandate for the National Governing Council to continue its calendar for restoration of full democratic rule. The calendar includes municipal elections in July and national elections in November.
The three-member civilian-military council took power after President-for-Life Jean-Claude Duvalier fled to exile in France on Feb. 7, 1986.
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