Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) — Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, Haiti’s former dictator, returned unexpectedly Sunday to the country after some 25 years in exile.
He arrived in the Haitian capital as the nation is grappling with a political crisis, sparked by fraud allegations in a presidential election. It was not immediately clear why the former leader returned.
Duvalier, wearing a dark suit and tie, greeted supporters at the busy Port-au-Prince airport. He had traveled with his wife.
The Duvalier family ruled Haiti for three decades starting in 1957, when Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier was elected president. He later declared himself president for life. When he died in 1971, he was succeeded by his 19-year-old son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier.
The younger Duvalier held onto power for 15 years before a revolt forced him to flee the country. He has been living in France.
The United Nations restricted the movement of its staff in Port-au-Prince until further notice, or until the impact of Duvalier’s arrival becomes clear, said Patrick Hanson, a security officer for the United Nations in Haiti.
While groups of people have gathered in various parts of the city, they are calm and no violence has been reported, he said.
Last week, Haiti marked the first anniversary of a devastating earthquake that left more than 200,000 people dead.
The January 12 anniversary of the catastrophe, as Haitians call it, comes as the Caribbean nation faces new crises: a cholera epidemic that has killed more than 3,700 people and a political impasse sparked by allegations of election fraud in the nation’s presidential balloting.
Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council released preliminary election results in early December that gave former first lady Mirlande Manigat a win with 31.4% of the vote. Jude Celestin, President Rene Preval’s handpicked successor, came in second with 22.3% while popular musician Michel Martelly was third with 21.8%.
However, a review of the results, conducted by an Organization of American States monitoring team, said in actuality Martelly had won 22.2% of the vote to Celestin’s 21.9%, affording Martelly a spot in a runoff election with Manigat.
A runoff, originally scheduled for Sunday, was postponed. Haiti’s constitution mandates a new presidential term starting on February 7. It is unclear whether that will happen.
He arrived in the Haitian capital as the nation is grappling with a political crisis, sparked by fraud allegations in a presidential election. It was not immediately clear why the former leader returned.
Duvalier, wearing a dark suit and tie, greeted supporters at the busy Port-au-Prince airport. He had traveled with his wife.
The Duvalier family ruled Haiti for three decades starting in 1957, when Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier was elected president. He later declared himself president for life. When he died in 1971, he was succeeded by his 19-year-old son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier.
The younger Duvalier held onto power for 15 years before a revolt forced him to flee the country. He has been living in France.
The United Nations restricted the movement of its staff in Port-au-Prince until further notice, or until the impact of Duvalier’s arrival becomes clear, said Patrick Hanson, a security officer for the United Nations in Haiti.
While groups of people have gathered in various parts of the city, they are calm and no violence has been reported, he said.
Last week, Haiti marked the first anniversary of a devastating earthquake that left more than 200,000 people dead.
The January 12 anniversary of the catastrophe, as Haitians call it, comes as the Caribbean nation faces new crises: a cholera epidemic that has killed more than 3,700 people and a political impasse sparked by allegations of election fraud in the nation’s presidential balloting.
Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council released preliminary election results in early December that gave former first lady Mirlande Manigat a win with 31.4% of the vote. Jude Celestin, President Rene Preval’s handpicked successor, came in second with 22.3% while popular musician Michel Martelly was third with 21.8%.
However, a review of the results, conducted by an Organization of American States monitoring team, said in actuality Martelly had won 22.2% of the vote to Celestin’s 21.9%, affording Martelly a spot in a runoff election with Manigat.
A runoff, originally scheduled for Sunday, was postponed. Haiti’s constitution mandates a new presidential term starting on February 7. It is unclear whether that will happen.
