Judgments of the balloting overseen by Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) varied from "deeply flawed,"[1] to free and fair[2] and "the best so far"[3] On election day, according to the OAS Observation Mission, "polling took place in an atmosphere of calm characterized by a high voter turnout."
It reported few violent incidents during the day but said that the process "began to deteriorate at the close of the polls," with armed groups in three areas stealing and burning ballot boxes.
Opposition parties and the OAS Election Observation Mission disputed the number of Senate candidates announced as having won an absolute majority.
The head of the Electoral Council, Léon Manus, initially maintained that the calculation method "was in keeping with past practice",[5] and told the OAS not to interfere.
[7] In response to the disputed election the United States cut off aid and blocked previously agreed loans from the Inter-American Development Bank.
An Organization of American States fact-finding mission found that 10 senatorial seats should have gone to a second-round runoff because the candidates did not win an absolute majority as required by the constitution.