February 4, 2006 - 5:50 PM

Aristide supporters rally before Haiti vote

By Kieran Murray and Joseph Guyler Delva

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Reuters) - Hundreds of poor Haitians danced in the streets on Saturday and demanded the return of exiled leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide three days before a presidential vote that some fear will lead to chaos.

Loudspeakers mounted on trucks blared music as Aristide supporters waved banners, sang and danced in a campaign rally that wound from the streets of downtown Port-au-Prince into the sprawling Bel-Air slum.

They were marching in support of front-runner Rene Preval, an ex-president seen as an Aristide ally even though he has tried to distance himself from the firebrand former priest who was ousted in a rebellion two years ago.

"Preval, we can't wait any longer, bring back Aristide," the crowd chanted. One man lay in the street, a poster of Preval on one side and a poster of Aristide on the other.

"Preval and Aristide are twins!" others shouted.

Aristide, who has spent the last two years in exile in South Africa, remains the dominant and most divisive figure in Haitian politics and in Tuesday's election.

While Aristide is adored by many in Haiti's slums, business leaders despise him and others say he was a corrupt despot when he came to power.

The election is aimed at restoring democracy in Haiti after Aristide was toppled in February 2004. But it could plunge the poorest country in the Americas into yet another round of fighting between his supporters and enemies.

"There are many people who really fear maybe on election day there could be chaos, and that chaos could provoke violence," said Johan Van Hecke, head of a European Union parliamentary delegation in Haiti this week.

U.N. troops stepped up patrols in Haiti on Saturday to ensure security ahead of voting.

Armoured personnel carriers loaded with U.N. peacekeepers crawled along streets on the edge of the capital's biggest and most dangerous slums, stopping passenger buses and private cars to search for weapons.

"People will see a lot of soldiers and a lot of police around to make sure people know the election is going to go smoothly," said David Wimhurst, a spokesman for the U.N. mission in Haiti.

'PEOPLE ARE NERVOUS'

The U.N. force was sent to back a feeble Haitian police after the 2004 rebellion. It has nearly 7,300 soldiers and 1,800 civilian police on the ground but they have been bogged down in frequent battles with slum gangs.

Hundreds of people have been killed and nearly 2,000 kidnapped for ransom in the last year.

Gang leaders and slum residents accuse Haiti's business elite of trying to spark election-day violence and deliberately placing polling stations well away from their neighbourhoods to discourage the poor from voting.

Preval, opposed by Haiti's business elite, has stayed away from his own rallies, apparently fearing attack.

A 1987 election was halted when thugs killed more than 30 people in the capital city Port-au-Prince, most of them at a polling station in a school.

"It's a dangerous city and a dangerous time. People are nervous," said a Brazilian soldier with the U.N. force near Port-au-Prince's airport. "We are nervous."

Preval's two main rivals, businessman Charles Baker and former President Leslie Manigat, held street rallies on Saturday evening and pledged to restore order to Haiti after years of chaos.

Despite all the tension, political leaders and election officials are urging the nation's 3.5 million voters to cast their ballots, even if it means walking miles to a voting centre.

"I heard there could be violence but if we are to hope for a real change in this country, we need to take the risk to go to vote," said Maxime Joanif, 29, a Port-au-Prince resident. "Whether there is violence or not, I'm going to vote."