Blank Ballots Decide Haiti Election

CBS News - 21 minutes ago "We acknowledge the final decision of the electoral council and salute the election of Mr. Rene Preval as president of the Republic of Haiti," Prime Minister ... [Haiti Election | Google News]

This is the kind of "spin" that we're now seeing. It was not a backroom deal that made Preval president - it was the vote of the people of Haiti. There is no denying that efforts were made to manipulate the vote to lower Preval's total. And no denying that despite those efforts he achieved a clear majority of all who voted for a candidate in the presidential race.

Leslie Manigat, who ran a very distant second, is being quoted as saying this decision was an 'electoral coup.' A coup? With over 50% of the vote, and defeating Manigat by almost 40% points it is very hard to argue that declaring Preval the winner is a decision goes against the will of the Haitian people - unlike the very real coup that took place in February of 2004, nor is it against the rules governing the election, unlike the dumping of ballots in a trash dump.