Preval Prevails, But Questions Lurk

Really, what the hell happened? A friend sends this account from the Miami Herald, which offers this chronology of events and points up the leverage that France, Canada and the U.S. had in resolving the electoral crisis.

I don't doubt that "irregularities" marred the election-- Preval was expected to win in a landslide, according to observers and poll-watchers, and all those blank ballots were suspicious. But I worry that Preval's government will be shadowed by illegitimacy and, indeed, even more dependent on fair-weather friends (France, the US, Canada) that usually leave the Haitian left in the lurch. Consider, for instance, yesterday's barely-veiled threat from my nemesis, Roger Noriega:

"Haitians have suffered the consequences when, not too long ago, they were denied legitimate government because outsiders pronounced slip-shod elections as ''good enough'' for Haiti. Now, violent mobs may be trying to convince those tallying the ballots that 49 percent is ``good enough."... Préval's opponents--roughly half the population--will have every reason to reject the legitimacy of a leader who counted on a mob to seal his victory."

So much for power to the people. Like his predecesor, Preval is under our thumbs.