Haiti: Aristide admits the love affair is over

international | miscellaneous | news report Thursday March 09, 2006 14:01 by anony

"If they had wanted my return, they would have chosen Marc Bazin.

NOTE FROM AN EDITOR - It has come to attention of lists that the quotes in this article are in dispute - please read the comments for peer review of this working the way it is supposed to

In his first public statements since Haiti's Feb. 7 elections, former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide has said he respects the Haitian people and the way that they voted.

"The Haitian people voted for Préval. If they had wanted my return to Haiti, they would have chosen Marc Bazin," said Aristide.

Marc Bazin was the presidential candidate of Aristide's Lavalas Family Party and a former cabinet minister in the Aristide government of 2001-4. During campaigning for the elections, Bazin spoke out in favour of Aristide's return to Haiti from exile in South Africa.

René Préval, on the other hand, merely repeated that the "Constitution stipulates that no Haitian needs a visa to leave Haiti or return."

Préval won 993,000 votes - 51% of the vote, while Bazin came in far behind in 12th position with 13,000 votes - just 0.7% of the total.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide told the BCB, "It was a love story. They loved me and I loved them. But when you are in love, you can also fall out of love. People are not dumb. Years have passed, and the people's love for me has waned. It's simple."