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 Wyclef ready to run for Haitian president 8/5/2010 - 4:55:26 PM  Haitian-born singer Wyclef Jean stepped down today as leader of the aid group he founded as he prepared to formally declare his candidacy for the country’s presidency. “I am not stepping down in my commitment to Haiti. On the contrary, regardless of what path I take next, one thing is certain: My focus on helping Haiti turn a new corner will only grow stronger,” he said. Businessman Derek Q. Johnson will take up the helm of the organisation. Jean helped found Yele Haiti five years ago to raise money and build awareness of the myriad problems in his impoverished homeland. It raised $9m (€6.8m) in the wake of the January 12 earthquake that killed 300,000 people. It has spent $1.5m (€1.14m) on food, water, tents, clothes and other products for quake survivors. The organisation – named for one of the former Fugee member’s songs – often worked in partnership with the United Nations and other agencies to implement its programmes, lending its name and Jean’s cachet to help raise funds. But Yele came under criticism when post-quake scrutiny revealed alleged improprieties including that it had paid Jean to perform at fundraising events and bought advertising air time from a television station he co-owns. Jean tearfully defended the organisation in a news conference weeks after the quake. Yele also hired a new accounting firm after the allegations surfaced. Numerous candidates are expected to run for president in Haiti’s November 28 election, from those representing small factions, towns and pockets of the diaspora to former heads of government. They have until Saturday to register. Among the most formidable contestants will be ousted ex-Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis, who secured the backing of President Rene Preval’s powerful Unity party this week. Preval is barred from running by the constitution. All candidates must be approved by an eight-member, presidentially approved electoral council that will verify constitutional requirements including having lived in Haiti for five consecutive years leading up to the election and never having held foreign citizenship. The residency requirement could put Jean’s candidacy in jeopardy from the start. The singer – whose age was until recently listed as 37 but whose brother said this week he is 40 – left Haiti as a child and lives primarily in the United States. |
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