Wyclef Jean's aspirations of running for the job of President of Haitiwere reportedly killed softly on Thursday, when his name did not appear on the country's electoral council's list of eligible individuals.
After months of preparation, which included the filling out grueling paperwork, resigning from his position as director of the organization he founded (Yéle) and having to go in to hiding due to an influx of countless death threats from political fanatics, a source told Reuters that Jean's name was absent from the list of viable Haitian presidential candidates.
"He is not on the list as I speak," said an unidentified election council official who had seen the list that is set to be made public on Friday.
There were questions surrounding Jean's residency from the very beginning of the presidential-bidding process.
Haiti has a very strict rule, stating that all presidential candidates must be residents of the island for at least five consecutive years. Jean, who was born in Haiti but has lived in the United States for most of his life, was very adamant about the fact that he is actually exempted from the country's stringent residency criteria.
Since Haiti's current president, RenéGarciaPréval, made Jean a roving ambassador-at-large back in 2007, the former Fugees front man claimed that he has played it close to his birthplace over the last few years except for a few inevitable absences. Still many of his countrymen grumble at his residency claim.
The unidentified source also stated that Jean failed to meet several other legal requirements as well but failed to get in to specifics.
President Préval cannot seek re-election because he has already served two terms in office.
Jean's bid for president of a nation, which was ravished by a deadly earthquake earlier this year that left hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants dead, appeared to infuse hope and new beginnings for the country's youth. On the flip side, there are those Haitian politicos who view Jean as a mere celebrity and an outsider and threat.
Now the impoverished little nation might have to gear up for political unrest. There are reports that some candidates may be preparing to stir up violent protests if their candidacies are rejected:
"I've even been told that they have already bought and distributed machetes.... It's up to security officials to assume their responsibilities," the election council official told Reuters. "But we are doing our job and we will continue to assume our responsibilities regardless of what people do or say."
Consequently, the U.N. and Haitian police have increased their man power particularly around the headquarters of the electoral council in the island's capital of Port-au-Prince.
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