PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned to Haiti today, ending seven years of exile in South Africa despite U.S. objections and just two days before a crucial presidential election.
Supporters whooped and cheered at Port-au-Prince airport as a smiling Aristide, accompanied by his family and U.S. actor and black rights activist Danny Glover, emerged from the charter plane that brought him from South Africa.
Aristide, 57, who was ousted from power in 2004 through an armed rebellion, is very popular among Haiti’s poor but is reviled by business leaders and is seen as a divisive figure.
He ignored a direct plea from the United States to delay his return until after Sunday’s presidential vote in the Caribbean nation, one of the world’s poorest states.
Washington and other western donors, who have pledged billions of dollars to help rebuild Haiti following last year’s devastating earthquake, had expressed fears that the homecoming of the charismatic leftist former Catholic priest could be disruptive for the run-off election.
Voters will choose between popular musician Michel Martelly and former first lady Mirlande Manigat in a vote that donors hope will appoint a stable leadership to oversee the post-quake recovery and administer reconstruction funds.
U.S. officials have said the presence of Aristide could be “destabilizing” for the vote, the first second-round runoff in the history of Haiti’s presidential elections.
U.N. peacekeepers are providing security for the polls.
U.S. President Barack Obama had called his South African counterpart, Jacob Zuma, to stress the importance of Aristide not returning before the poll. But South Africa said it could not stop Aristide from going back to his country.
