US URGES ADOPTING OAS REPORT FOR HAITIAN ELECTIONS

Port-au-Prince, January 31- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stood firm behind a controversial report on Haiti's fraud-ridden presidential elections Sunday, telling political actors and others that the United States wants the process to move forward.

But even as Clinton urged adoption of the Organization of the American States report on Haiti's chaotic Nov. 28 presidential elections, she also sought advice on how a quake-battered Haiti could dig itself out of the political crisis stemming from the vote.

Clinton arrived after 1 p.m. Sunday and spent the day in private back-to-back meetings with each of the three presidential candidates jockeying to replace President Rene Preval, who could be forced to leave office on Feb. 7 even though his successor has yet to be elected. She also met separately with the head of the United Nations peacekeeping operations in Haiti, a member of the private sector and Preval before flying back to Washington.

Prior to arriving in Haiti, Clinton told reporters that the issue of Feb. 7 has to be discussed with Preval, but that the United States has “made it very clear” that it supports the OAS report. The report, which detailed fraud in every presidential camp, states the elections are salvageable with improvements in a second round. It also suggests that the placing of the second- and third-placed presidential candidates in preliminary elections results be switched.

Clinton's visit comes amid increasing concerns that Haiti, which has remain relatively calm despite the political impasse, could plunge deeper into political instability as elections officials prepare to announce on Wednesday the final results of the presidential and legislative elections. In recent days, there has been a growing sense of nationalism and anti-international community sentiment as the opposition continues its call for the cancellation of the ballot, and government-backed candidate Jude Celestin rejects request by Preval's to withdraw his candidacy due to intense pressure by the United States and other nations over adoption of the report.

The United States' top diplomat to the United Nations, Susan Rice, recently suggested that Haiti could lose valuable international aid if it did not accept the OAS recommendations. Recently, several individuals close to Preval, including one of his ministers, had their U.S. visas revoked.

On Sunday, Clinton re-emphasized the United States' commitment to the people of Haiti, saying she does not envision “at this time'' suspension of aid. During a visit to a cholera treatment plant operated by Partners In Health, a U.S.-supported non-governmental organization, she chatted with patients about the waterborne-disease and asked questions about the illness, which has killed more than 4,000 Haitians since October.

“She was very pleased by the response from the Ministry of Health and she pledged continuing support both in terms of financial and technical assistance”, said Nancy Dorsinville, a medical anthropologist with Partners In Health, who gave Clinton a tour of the center.

Still Haiti remains a country on the brink. After preliminary results were announced in December showing that Celestin had edged out singer Michel “Sweet Micky'' Martelly, supporters of Martelly shut down the capital and two other major cities with three days of violent protests. Concerns are growing that protests planned for as early as Monday could once again lead to violence with no one able to control protesters.

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