Having skirted around the question for several weeks now, former Fugee Wyclef Jean has officially announced that he is running for the Haitian presidency.
Ahead of the announcement, Jean stepped down as chairman of Yele Haiti, the charitable organisation that he founded five years ago to help the people of Haiti. Then yesterday, he and his family flew to the country's earthquake ravaged capital Port-au-Prince to file his official election papers at the provisional electoral council. There he was greeted by a crowd of supporters, to whom he announced, "I would like to tell President Barack Obama that the United States has Obama and Haiti has Wyclef Jean."
There is still some concern as to Jean's eligibility for the position. Technically he should have lived in Haiti for five successive years and never have been a citizen of any other country. However, the country's officials have previously allowed certain candidates to run, and disqualified others due to technicalities. Speaking to The Associated Press, the hip hop star revealed that his advisers expected him to be excuse of the requirements because he has held a formal, at-large Haitian ambassadorship since 2007. He also admitted that the experience has been "very emotional" and that it marks "a moment in time and in history."
Competition is expected to be fierce in this election, and Jean will be up against ex-Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis, former diplomat Garaudy Laguerre and his own uncle Raymond Joseph, who is currently Haiti's ambassador to the United States. The official list of candidates will be published on August 17th, while the election itself will take place on November 28th.
Speaking to the World News America's Sharon Carpenter, Wyclef admitted that the earthquake of January 12th had prompted his decision to run for president, but that prior to the tragedy he already had concerns about Haiti's high level of illiteracy and their reliance on imports. You can watch that extensive and very interesting interview via the BBC.
