René Préval, 2006 News

Haitian politician, was declared the winner of February presidential elections after protracted negotiations between Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council, Préval's Lespwa party, and the interim government. Préval, a former prime minister and Aristide protegé, was considered the favorite in the race, but he failed to win an outright majority. When the election count indicated that Préval's lead over the other candidate was dropping and that he would not win an outright majority, Préval contested the election and charged that “massive fraud and gross errors had stained the process.” The deal gave Préval, very popular among Haiti's poor, more than 50% of the vote, enough to eliminate the need for a runoff election.