Carnival Singer Wins Haiti Election

Preliminary results indicate Michel “Sweet Mickey” Martelly will be the country’s next president.

Martelly is an atypical politician, to say the least, but his victory makes sense in a country where conventional leaders have consistently failed to find solutions to the nation’s many problems. A 50-year-old carnival singer known for his flamboyant, rum-fuelled performances, Martelly won 67.6 per cent of the votes in last month’s run-off election, beating out former first lady Mirlande Manigat. At news of the results, Martelly’s jubilant supporters flooded into the streets Monday, expressing hope that the Everyman candidate will put an end to their misery. Nearly 700,000 Haitians are still homeless from the massive January 2010 earthquake, and international aid has stalled pending the outcome of the lengthy election process, which was plagued by fraud and irregularities.