The Presidential Election

The Presidential election runoff will be held in March. It is between

Ms. Manigat and Mr. Martelly, better known as Sweet Mickey. There is

tremendous interest and hope for this election. The young people are

mostly behind Sweet Mickey. That's understandable. That he is a

successful musician who has helped sustain Haiti's own style of music

- Kompa - plays well with the young people. But he also has a much

broader appeal to the general public due to his history as a community

organizer who possesses charisma (sounds familiar).

Ms. Manigat is considered to be part of the establishment. The wife of a

short-term past president, she had the second most votes, placing her

in the run-off with Sweet Mickey. The feeling is that Sweet Mickey is

odds on favorite to win.