Brazilian troops were responsible for the security of 88 voting centers in the Haitian capital, as well as other 26 in the interior of the country, this Tuesday, February 7, during elections to choose new Congress representatives and the new President.
According to the Commander of the Infantry Battalion of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, colonel Luiz Augusto Santiago, no severe incident was registered in the area under Brazilian responsibility. The Provisional Electoral Council estimates that 80% of registered voters did vote this Tuesday.
All 1,050 Brazilian soldiers in Haiti worked during the country’s election day ensuring security at voting centers.
"It was a surprise to see so many people voting. Since some voting sections had some delay at the time of opening, lines started forming and we were worried about this. But we did not have any seriou incident and were able to accoplish our mission," said colonel Santiago.
In the Saint Gerard section, Brazilian soldiers gave warning shots into the air to maintain the order when people in line started getting edgy due to hours of delay.
In Croix de Rouge, Brazilian troops once again intervened, this time throwing tear gas to dirperse the crowd. According to the Brazilian authorities nobody got hurt.
ABr