Next Saturday, October 16, at Eckerd College's Fox Hall in St. Petersburg, there will be a Presidential Candidates Forum for the candidates running to become the next President of Haiti, who will hold an election on November 28.
The debate is scheduled to run from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. (Eckerd is located at 4200 54th Avenue South in St. Petersburg).
According to a press release issued this morning by Eckerd College,11 of the 18 candidates on the ballot have announced that they will participate in the forum. It will be moderated by Daniel Thelusmar of Heart to Heart Caribbean Ministry based in Tampa.
Organizers also say the debate will be broadcast on WMNF 88.5 FM, and made available to 160 radio stations in the U.S. and Canada.
The election comes 10 months after Haiti's devastating earthquake, that killed over 250,000 and, according to Refugees International, left more than one million million still living in mostly unmanaged camps . The Washington-based nonprofit says sexual violence is rampant and gangs often roam freely through the camps, while the humanitarian response "appears paralyzed."
The 11 candidates who have confirmed their appearance are Senator Jean Hector Anacacis, Dr. Josette Ann Marie Bijou, Dr. Gérard Marie Necker Blot, Jean Henry Céant, Eric Smarcki Charles, Yves Christalin, Wilson Jeudy, Jean Chavannes Jeune, Génard Joseph, Garaudy Laguerre, and Yvon Neptune.
Interest among mainstream U.S. citizens in the election heightened this summer when singer Wyclef Jean announced his candidacy. However, that was thwarted in August when election officials there disqualified him from running.
