René Préval (63) was expected to appeal for calm in Haiti on Tuesday following protests over a vote count that put him short of the 50% he needs to be elected president in the first round.
Tension remained high as Préval’s supporters insisted the frontrunner be declared president, despite the partial results.
Discontent was further fuelled by the long wait for the official outcome, which was yet to be announced one week after the election.
On Monday, a Préval supporter was shot dead as protesters took over the streets of the capital, barricading roads, storming a luxury hotel and setting tyres alight.
Protesters blamed United Nations peacekeepers for the death, but a spokesperson for the UN Stabilisation Mission (Minustah) insisted the troops only fired two shots in the air and never shot at demonstrators.
Préval, a former president who enjoys strong support among the millions of impoverished Haitians, was expected to issue an appeal for calm among his supporters.
His arrival in the Haitian capital on Monday already helped ease the tension. Préval met with UN and Haitian officials as well as diplomats after flying in from his hometown of Marmelade.
”He came to calm people. It is very important he should do that,” said Brazil’s ambassador to Haiti, Jose Paolo de Andrade Pinto.
Brazil, which leads Minustah, asked the United States to organise a UN Security Council meeting on the new tensions in Haiti. The United States is coucil president for February.
Washington, for its part urged Haitians to respect the outcome of the elections.
Former South African Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Monday also urged the demonstrators to remain calm.
”You must show the world that you abhor fighting,” the Nobel peace laureate said, speaking from the terrace of the luxury Montana hotel, where protesters briefly took over the garden, swimming pool and tennis court.
Demonstrations were also reported in Cap-Haitien, Haiti’s second largest city, and in other parts of the impoverished Caribbean country.
Similar protests two years ago turned into a popular uprising that forced Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti’s last elected president, to flee. Haiti has been rocked by turmoil since, but the violence eased shortly before the February 7 elections.
Monday’s demonstrations started after authorities announced the latest partial results, showing Preval had 48,76% of the vote with 90% of the ballots tallied.
Préval (63) had a huge lead over his 31 rivals, several of whom have said they would support him in a second round.
A runoff would be held on March 19, with Préval competing against runner-up Leslie Manigat (75) also a former president who had 11,8% in the partial results.
Préval was president from 1996 to 2001. A former ally of Aristide, he served as prime minister in his government in 1991, but his aides say the two men are no longer in contact. – Sapa-AFP