Black Habits - UN chief assures Haitians security

As Haiti anxiously approaches its first democratic elections after two years of instability, the United Nations says all preparations are in place and peacekeepers are ready to react swiftly and forcefully should any violence erupt.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is calling on all Haitians to participate in today’s presidential and parliamentary elections. He has also asked the Security Council to extend the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force there for six months.

In a briefing yesterday at UN headquarters, Hedi Annabi, assistant secretary general for peacekeeping operations, said the elections are “an essential step in the transition away from violence and uncertainty and towards laying the foundations of a stable and democratic future for Haiti.”

Annabi said Haiti was fully prepared to move forward with the voting. “I can tell you today that the technical preparations for these elections are now in place so that the elections can take place ... as scheduled.”

More than 92 per cent of voter identification cards had been distributed to registered voters, giving the UN reason to hope that voters would come out in large numbers to cast ballots, Annabi said.

Haiti has been wracked by violence and instability since an uprising forced then-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power in February 2004. - The Associated Press