A 10-person team from the Organization of American States (OAS) completed a report on Monday that concluded that Michel Martelly won more votes than previously announced in the Haitian presidential elections on November 28, 2010. The controversial election placed ruling-party candidate Jude Celestin in second place, qualifying him for a second round run-off over the popular kompa star Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly. After reviewing the results, the OAS disqualified 17,220 votes for Celestin and 7,150 votes for Martelly, giving Martelly the second-place victory with 22.2 of the vote.

The Haitian government asked the OAS to review the election after widespread protests and violence broke out following the initial release of results on December 7, 2010. The clashes between protesters—mostly Martelly’s supporters—and UN Peacekeepers left at least five dead.

President René Préval and the Haitian Electoral Committee have denied accusations of fraud and ballot-stuffing. Now that the OAS results clash with the Haitian government’s—and cites the strong possibility of fraud—Préval has not yet accepted the OAS report. Whoever is chosen as the second-place finisher will face first place Mirlande Manigat in a run-off that is postponed until February 2011.

With 100 percent of ballots cast in Sunday’s mayoral elections in Lima now counted—but not yet verified—Fuerza Social candidate Susana Villarán is in the lead with 38.498 percent of votes compared to 37.588 percent for her opponent, Lourdes Flores of the PPC-UN, according to reports this morning from the Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales (ONPE).  However, these numbers were based on the verification of just 74 percent of votes cast, leaving 26 percent of votes to be evaluated by elections monitors. The delay has been stirring suspicions of fraud in an election where the next mayor of Lima may be determined by less than 1 percent of votes cast. 

Regardless of the outcome, Lima is poised to elect its first female mayor in five centuries.  Currently in the lead, Susana Villarán has served as Peru’s minister for women and social development, represented Peru on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, as well as participating in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.  She wrote an article on female representation in judicial systems in a previous issue of Americas Quarterly. Villarán also staged an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2006.

Final results are expected to be announced by tomorrow.