Article 291 of Haiti's new constitution prohibits close associates of the toppled Duvalier regime from seeking public office for the next decade. Last week the Provisional Electoral Council invoked that stricture and ruled ineligible twelve of the 35 declared candidates in presidential elections scheduled for Nov. 29. Reaction was swift and violent. Night after night, armed gangs set fire to the electoral council's headquarters in downtown Port- au-Prince, to a store owned by a prominent council member, and to a plant where ballots were being printed. "We are determined to hold elections," declared the Rev. Alain Rocourt, council treasurer. But, he...
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