Re Marked Ballots Found At Haitian Dump (Feb. 16):
The International Mission for Monitoring Haitian Elections (IMMHE) stands by its Feb. 9 declaration regarding the Feb. 7 vote. That statement clearly referred to the events on election day, when the vote was carried out with no violence or intimidation, and no accusations of fraud. Therefore, the Canadian government and the international community were justified in commending the election. Our positive comments were echoed by other international monitors.
The deteriorating situation that then ensued in the country resulted in the temporary suspension of our post-election monitoring. We have since resumed our observation.
It is important to recognize that the IMMHE's role is to observe the election, not to involve itself in its delivery. The IMMHE will continue to monitor the vote tabulation and the handling of complaints. Once our observations are complete, we will issue a public report.