At a press conference held Friday morning in Montreal, the candidate Mirlande Manigat said she hoped a turnout in the second round next March 20 of 50% "if we reach 50% of voters, I think it will be a positive step" Recalling that this is the first time, that there is a second round of elections in Haiti "I do not think that Haitians are afraid to vote. I think that perhaps they will not be motivated to vote", she added, adding that the electoral machine is not an inspiration of confidence for her, given the incidents of the first round.

If she is elected, Mirlande Manigat said that she will struggle for social justice, strengthen health care for women and provide drinking water for all Haitians. She also pledged to improve education, noting that millions of young Haitians are not in school. She also said that one of her priorities is to amend the constitution of Haiti to allow dual citizenship and voting abroad. "They [the Haitian diaspora] can not vote, but they can influence the family, friends and neighbors in Haiti to vote, of course for me".

Concerning her favorite theme, the education, she said "when you think in terms of sustainable development, you can't go far if the public is not educated. We're not just talking about basic education, but Hatiti also needs electricians and carpenters and engineers to rebuild the country, and needs professional schools."

Facing his opponent Michel Martelly, she said something more nuanced than in Florida saying to be open to his camp "A priori, I doesn't exclude anyone. We do not have in our camp the monopoly of competence. Competences are also in the camp of Michel Martelly" But she shows little openness to the potential presence of Michel Martelly in her government, saying that the latter has "no program".

On the issue of the return of former President Aristide, in exile in South Africa since 2004, she said "he has every right to return, but it would be preferable that he waits after the election [...] As a citizen, I think that the simultaneous presence of two former presidents, who have left memories quite different in the collective memory, may cause some agitation, not agitation, but at least a kind of effervescence... Given the fragility of the forthcoming elections, I believe that the country needs calm and serenity".

She believes that the future of Haiti depends of the international aid, but believes that Haiti will have to show its mettle so that this aid be paid "We must rely on international aid, we need it. But I think we should try to mobilize already so small it is, a capacity of self-financing by the introduction into our governance practices, of a little more serious, a little more method and a little more integrity. We have a dysfunctional state, which is a little predator, and who does not control anything. And the limited resources we have is misused" has concluded Mirlande Manigat.

Article By HL/ HaitiLibre