David Wimhurst
David Wimhurst
carry donkeys election fleet materials mules
We've mobilized our fleet of donkeys and mules and they'll trot off and carry the election materials up the mountain.
elections expect large last minute soldiers until usual
You'll see more patrols, more soldiers out than usual from now and until elections. All the last minute arrangements are in place. We expect a large turnout.
accepted bad election entire except generally result welcomed
I don't think it's as bad as it sounds. The election of Mr. Preval has been universally welcomed except for one or two quarters. It's a result that has generally been accepted by the entire international community.
election people police soldiers sure
People will see a lot of soldiers and a lot of police around to make sure people know the election is going to go smoothly.
elections expected higher nobody
Nobody expected (voter turnout) to be higher than the first round, and historically there's not a lot of turnout for legislative elections in Haiti.
candidate certain elections fact february happy population relief round
First there is the fact that the first round of elections (on February 7) is finished, and with the election of Mr. Rene Preval I think there is a certain relief in the population happy to see its candidate chosen.
choice convinced elections held incidents quite schedule
We're quite convinced the elections will be held on schedule and will unfold, we hope, with no incidents so that everyone can make their choice democratically and freely.
centers council determine electoral job location mission physically selected verify voting
Our mission was to verify that the voting centers the electoral council had selected physically existed. It had never been our job to determine the location of voting centers.
armed attacking forces morning mountains piece received refugee third top
We were told at 11:30 this morning that the militias and the TNI -- the armed forces -- were attacking the refugees. We have just received a third piece of information, from another refugee in that area, who's on the top of the mountains overlooking Dare.
attention came draw situations violence
We came in here unarmed. We've been in these situations before. I draw your attention back to those who are responsible for this violence and those who are responsible for controlling this violence, and they are not doing that.
checked forensic laboratory ourselves somewhat task
We don't ourselves have forensic capability. We have checked in Freetown, and there is no forensic laboratory available, which makes our task somewhat difficult.
huge outside people polling thousands waiting
We have tens of thousands of people outside some polling stations, huge numbers. Sometimes they get unruly, but most are waiting patiently.
basis provide soldiers troop voluntary withdraw
Troop contributors do provide soldiers on a voluntary basis and they can withdraw them when they feel it's appropriate.
maintain people security thousands
We have all our security people out there to maintain order. When you get thousands of people on the streets, things can get unpredictable.