Demerara Waves Online News- Guyana Riding on the Crest of Truth
Last Updated on Monday, 27 October 2014, 21:21 by GxMedia
Angry voters showed their identification cards in protest at the vote which was cancelled (BBC Latam photo)
Haitian police have dispersed an opposition-led demonstration in the capital following an official announcement delaying long-planned legislative and municipal elections.
The demonstration began hours after President Michel Martelly announced a decree to defer the elections, originally scheduled for Sunday.
He also declared that the government would continue consultations with various state agencies to ensure that the vote is held as soon as possible.
You can download today’s programme by clicking here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wc0ha3zglcyjyz4/caribnews_oct27_2014.MP3?dl=0
The Spanish News Agency reported that an estimated 1,000 persons marched through the streets with their voter identification cards to protest the postponement and demanded Martelly’s resignation for having deferred the electoral process without announcing a specific date for the event.
The police used teargas and water cannon on the protestors, who reported cases of brutality.
In August, the Organization of American States urged the Haitian authorities to hold legislative and municipal elections, which have been deferred for years, before the end of 2014.
Elections to the country’s Senate have been pending since 2011, while the mandate for one-third of the senators expired in 2012, leaving the upper house of the Parliament with only two-thirds of its members.
Another one-third of the members of the Senate as well as the lower house will complete their terms in January, leaving the Parliament with below the minimum requisite numbers.
Also in the programme..
Local and municipal elections inHaiti have been pending since 2010.
Haiti erupts into violence after elections are delayed
Caribbean statisticians told to respect confidentiality and strive for independence
Guyana’s House Speaker intervenes in impasse to convene Assembly sittings
Cuban volunteer in Ebola-stricken West Africa dies of Malaria
And cricket pundits scorch West Indies decision to abandon tour to India