The Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haiti’s electoral commission said on Aug. 17 that it was postponing its ruling on who will be allowed to run for president in November elections, leaving hip hop artist Wyclef Jean’s candidacy in limbo.

A statement from the commission, known as the CEP, said it would postpone the announcement until Aug. 20.


The delay was the latest turn in the fledgling presidential race in this earthquake-torn country. Jean – one of dozens of candidates vying for the office – said he was in hiding Tuesday after receiving death threats.

The musician disclosed the threats in a series of e-mails to The Associated Press, revealing few details. Jean said he received a phone call telling him to get out of Haiti and that he was in hiding in a secret location in the Caribbean country.

The Haitian-born Jean said he did not know whether the commission would approve his candidacy, but there have been questions about whether he meets the residency requirements to run.

“We await the CEP decision but the laws of the Haitian Constitution must be respected,” he said in one of a flurry of e-mails.

Later in the evening, Jean sent the AP a one-word e-mail: “Hope!”

The CEP’s decisions – or lack thereof – sparked small protests throughout Port-au-Prince. During a peaceful march recently near the CEP office, several dozen young men marched and sang in the rain.

Later in the evening, a main road in and out of the city was blocked by burning tires.

A few days earlier Jean said that as leader he would work to change Haiti’s constitution to allow dual citizenship and give many Haitians living abroad the right to vote in their homeland.

The issue is central in Haiti, where hundreds of thousands have emigrated to flee poverty and the money they send to relatives back home is a vital source of income in the earthquake-ravaged Caribbean nation.

Currently, Haitians who emigrate must renounce their Haitian citizenship if they become citizens of another country, making them unable to vote or run for office in their homeland. Jean himself left Haiti for New York City when he was nine, but never sought U.S. citizenship.

The former Fugees front man told The Associated Press that his presidency would be a “bridge” between the Haitians abroad and those living in the country.

“The future is dual citizenship,” he said, adding that many countries, including the neighboring Dominican Republic, allow citizens to hold two passports.

Haitians abroad “should have the right to vote in their country,” especially since they send billions in remittances to family members.

“If they are the ones who keep this country alive, they should have some kind of say on what kind of government structure there is,” the 40-year-old singer said.

Jean arrived in Haiti after giving a concert in Belgium. He said it might be one of his last performances for five years if elected.

The singer, who appeared relaxed and was wearing a blue Adidas track suit and headphones around his neck, spoke to AP on Aug. 14 at the main airport in Port-au-Prince. He touched on issues of security, former Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide and on what being a celebrity has taught him about politics.

“Celebrity has taught me that politics is politricks,” he said. “The fact that I’m coming with this with fresh eyes but not naive ears, I think that’s a good start.”

But he spent most of the interview discussing the Haitian Diaspora, concentrated mainly in Miami, New York, Paris and Montreal.

People in Haiti have long relied on family and friends abroad to make ends meet. Remittances are the main source of income in the country of more than 9 million people, 70 percent of whom are unemployed and 90 percent of whom live in poverty.

According to a survey for the Inter-American Development Bank, 33 percent of Haitians receive cash from abroad and nearly 75 percent of the money is spent on food, housing, utilities and clothing. Food and other gifts are also sent.