26280: Leiderman (comment) where's the candidate's list? (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Stuart M Leiderman <leidermn@cisunix.unh.edu>


dear Readers:

I'm noticing that the journalistic and political criticism of the Provisional 
Election Council often uses the language "fraud and lack of transparency" but 
not one writer has asked anyone to define these terms and tell what they would 
do to correct these problems.  this is irresponsible reporting and 
irresponsible politics.  it lets the newsmedia and government institutions 
operate on a complaint basis, permitting them to fire off pot-shots and then 
sit in judgement of the reactions rather than be centrally accountable for the 
deterioration of society and heightening everyone's anxiety.  ultimately, 
journalists and politicians will pronounce, "The people get the kind of leaders 
they deserve," but really, it is a manufactured outcome, not a populist 
decision.

the main question is, "Who is to be trusted in Haiti?"  this has to boil down 
to actual names of Haitians who are known by others as honest, reliable, 
efficient and successful at what they do...all the way from the streetsweeper 
to street vendor to the president.  without posing that question and then 
finding ways to recognize Haitian talent and compentency, news coverage and 
governing in Haiti are destructive wastes of time.

there are legitimate signs of fraud and lack of transparency, as anyone can see 
from the difficulty of simply finding the list of registered presidential 
candidates and their contact information.  for example,
after several hours of looking on the web, I did not find a single article or 
government, NGO, UN or private website that gave that information.  personally, 
I want to write or call each candidate, request their campaign platforms, if 
any exist, and consider helping organize a series of fair debates among 
candidates, in Haiti and up here in the States.  but I didn't find the list I 
was looking for.  there's nothing on the Government of Haiti's website, nothing 
on the U.N.'s MINUSTAH website, and the content in the U.S. Embassy's website 
has just been wiped clean without explanation.  lack of transparency, indeed.

thank you,

Stuart Leiderman