Wyclef Disqualified: Jean to Appeal Election Board Decision – Wyclef Jean is better known as being a hip hop star than a presidential candidate, and his announcement to run for the presidency of Haiti sounds rather strange and like an extremely bad idea.
The country has just been hit by an earthquake, and before that the economy was in an extremely poor state and the amount of problems it is facing is immense. Wyclef Jean feels he would be the man to solve all these problems, despite the fact he has no political, diplomatic, financial experience, doesn’t have any proven record as a leader of people.
Haiti doesn’t have the best choice of possible leaders, with it seemingly being between a celebrity with too much money and not enough brains, or a strict loyalty to laws that limit outside influence. Not the best situation for a country that needs enough help as it can get.
According to Mr Jean, who was born in Haiti, “I will be seeking a solution through legal channels, and I urge my countrymen to be patient.”
“What was interesting about his candidacy was the way that it crystallized the ambiguities surrounding the role of the Haitian diaspora,” Laurent Dubois, a historian of Haiti at Duke University, said in an interview.
“Wyclef talked about bringing the American dream to Haiti, and those who supported him saw him as a potential conduit and communicator between the two countries. But there’s also, of course, anxiety in Haiti about U.S. influence, so that can cut both ways.”
Wyclef is vowing to fight the decision disqualifying him from the race by making an appeal via the national electoral dispute office.
