商人莫伊兹将或将赢得海地总统大选

Businessman Moise Set to Win Haiti's Presidential Election 商人莫伊兹将或将赢得海地总统大选

Haitian officials say businessman Jovenel Moise has won the country's second presidential election in two years.

Moise easily defeated 26 other candidates in the November 20 election.

Haiti’s election council announced the unofficial results on Monday. It said he received 55.6 percent of the votes.

Just 21 percent of Haitians with a right to vote marked ballots¹.

The voting took place a year after Haitian officials cancelled the results of the earlier presidential election.

Jovenel Moise was the candidate of the ruling PHTK, the party of former President Michel Martelly.

Moise is a banana exporter and new to politics. He used the nickname “the banana man” during the election campaign to avoid being mistaken for another candidate whose name also included “Moise.”

There were 27 presidential candidates in this election. With so many other candidates, it is unusual to reach a 35 percent lead over the second-place candidate.

Moise’s lead gave him a clear majority. That means the country will not need a runoff, or follow-up, election.

The second-place finisher, Jude Celestin of the Lapeh party, had 19.5 percent of the vote. The Associated Press reported that he and two other candidates plan to reject the preliminary results and take their case to the electoral court.

Haiti’s electoral court confirms the final vote count. The court will announce the winner on December 29. Until then, political parties can dispute the results.

At long last

After a long wait for this election, the voting process was relatively² problem-free, said Uder Antoine, the director of Haiti’s election council.

There were two major delays leading up to the election of Jovenel Moise. The first came in October of 2015, when presidential election results were cancelled because of reported cheating. A commission that examined that election said the main issue was a lack of skill by election workers, not political fraud.

Moise had also received the most votes in the 2015 election.

The second problem was Hurricane Matthew. The storm hit the country in October and caused severe damage to some areas.

Destruction from Hurricane Matthew and an earthquake in 2010 are still barriers to voting for many Haitians who live far from major cities, noted³ Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera. Another problem was the lack of voting stations in these areas.

Jocelerme Privert, Haiti’s current president, was chosen in February to rule temporarily until the new president is confirmed. Privert has remained in power since Martelly’s term ended in February 2016.

An uncertain future

Haitians are hoping that their new leader will end a year of struggles and insecurity, while uniting the country and creating jobs.

Violent protests affected⁴ parliamentary elections earlier last year. Election results were canceled in about a fourth of the voting districts.

This time, more than 13,000 police officers and United Nations peacekeeping troops were on guard to protect voting stations.

Haiti has long been known as the poorest nation in the Americas. Thousands of people who lost their homes in the 2010 earthquake are still living in shelters, and the population of Haiti's tent cities has grown since the hurricane last month.

A cholera⁵ epidemic⁶ that took place after the earthquake has remained, and the number of infections rose sharply in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, Haiti began a campaign to vaccinate⁷ more than 800,000 people against cholera. The disease spreads quickly in places where water supplies are unsafe and clean conditions are lacking.

Cholera had not been a problem in Haiti until it was accidentally brought there by U.N. peacekeepers. The U.N. force was deployed⁸ to help with earthquake security and repairs after the quake.

Words in This Story

preliminary - adj. coming before the main part of something

fraud - n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person

cholera - n. a serious disease that causes severe vomiting⁹ and diarrhea and that often results in death

epidemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people

1 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

6 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

7 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 vomiting   

吐

参考例句：

• Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. 症状有腹泻和呕吐。
• Especially when I feel seasick, I can't stand watching someone else vomiting." 尤其晕船的时候，看不得人家呕。”