Wyclef Jean Says He Is Not Giving Up Presidential Bid

Former Fugees front man Wyclef Jean refuses to hold up the white flag for his Haitian presidential bid. The humanitarian and entrepreneur announced Sunday that he will try his best to get the courts to overturn a decision that disqualified him from the race.

Jean, who is currently at his home in Croix des Bouquets, about 8 miles from the country's capital of Port-au-Prince, said that his team of legal eagles will file an appeal with the national electoral dispute office on Monday. Jean then reaffirmed his decision to appeal on Twitter saying:

"Tomorrow our Lawyers are appealing the decision of the Provisional Election Council (Conseil Electoral Provisoire, CEP). We have met all the requirements set by the laws. And the law must be Respected."

The 40-year-old thinks that there is more to the denial than meets the eye; Jean speculates that there are some political forces at play who don't want him to run. He also insists that he has a document that states that everything is in order, so he is baffled by his rejection.

Jean's bid was denied based on the island's residency requirements, which states that only those candidates who live in Haiti consecutively for five years can run for the country's highest office.

Jean has insisted all along that he has met the stringent guidelines and has only veered from them due to a few inevitable absences. Jean was appointed a roving ambassador-at-large by Haiti's current president, René Garcia Préval, in 2007, and his absences have all reportedly been business-related.

The board rejected 15 candidates and accepted 19 presidential bids. According to the Organization of American States (OAS) press release that was also issued Sunday:

"Regarding the 15 candidacies that were deemed ineligible, explications about the reasons for invalidating them would have contributed to the transparency of the process. The Mission appeals to the candidates, political parties and their followers to contribute to the stability of the ongoing electoral process by continuing to show public spirit and democratic involvement."

Jean is said to originally have had plans to visit his family in New Jersey over the weekend but instead remained in Haiti to see the appeal process through.

 

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