Results from the November 20 election have to be verified, by order of Haiti’s electoral court.

Three opposition parties have been successful in challenging the November 20 election results which saw the banana exporter, who was chosen by former president Michel Martelly to represent his party, taking 55.67 per cent of the vote.

The country’s electoral court last night ordered a review.

The three main opposition candidates — Jude Celestin who won 19.52 per cent of the vote, Jean-Charles Moïse who got 11.04 per cent and Maryse Narcisse who managed only 8.99 per cent — challenged the tally giving more than 55 per cent of the November 20 vote to Moise, , Tet Kale (PHTK).

Judges for the National Bureau of Electoral Litigation (BCEN) said they considered it “necessary to shine a light to establish the truth” and therefore ordered the ballots to be “transported to the tabulation centre for the verification of 12 per cent of the results.”

The decision followed lengthy arguments by lawyers for the opposition candidates and more than five hours of deliberation by the judges.

With Moïse’s more than 50 per cent election win, it had been expected that a planned January runoff would be avoided. But no final decision can be made until the court-ordered review has been completed.

Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/court-orders-review-haitis-preliminary-election-results#ixzz4U41ITVpN