Wyclef Still Trying to Get On the Ballot In Haiti
Monday, August 23, 2010 at 10:00AM
At first he was on Twitter saying he would respect the decision of Haiti's election council which ruled that the Haitian-born recording artist and record producer, Wyclef Jean, wasn't eligible to run for president of Haiti. He lacked the residency requirement ... meaning: He doesn't live there. Which is kind of important if you want to run for President of any country. But now Jean says he's going to challenge the ruling. I don't know how you get around the residency issue. He needs to be a resident of Haiti for at least five consecutive years to run, which is actually pretty flexible compared to U.S. presidency rules which state you have to be a natural born citizen no matter how long you've lived here or how much you love America, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Marry all the Kennedys you like. Govern the states you can get elected in. But the presidency is always going to be out of your Herculean grasp.
No exceptions.
Reader Comments (9)
Wyclef needs to stop already. If he really wants to become president of Haiti he should live there for at least five consecutive years and try to run in the next go around (as per the law).
I heard a statement from his lawyer earlier saying that Wyclef has followed all of Haiti's rules and therefore should be on the ballot. Um, no. Clearly there's that one residency rule thing, remember guys? Just let it go. Admirable quest, Mr. Jean, but this is not meant to be. I believe that Wyclef desperately wants to help Haiti. He has always been one of the most visible spokespersons for the nation - if only for his celebrity here in the US. Still, living in a country until you are 9 doesn't really acquaint you with the complexities and intricacies of its needs and infrastructure to be its leader. The residency requirement is fair and necessary. Wyclef should step back graciously before this looks even worse for him and continue his non-governmental humanitarian efforts for Haiti.
If Wyclef really wants to run then he should lay the ground work for the future by helping another qualified candidate to win and have that candidate make him ambassador to the U.S. Once he proves what he can do politically to help Haiti he will be President of Haiti one day. Also he shold buy a home in Haiti to establish residency, so he will meet all the requirements once it is his time to run.
Well, If you can't get Lauryn Hill to comeback to the Fugees and make you musically relevent again, I guess being president of an impoverished, disater-stricken third world nation is the logical next step...
Wyclef, sit down. This is not your lane.
Stop confusing your "Worlds Most Famous Hatian" steez with being a worthy cannidate fror PRESIDENCY of a nation in dire need of good, intelligent, qualified, connected, leadership.
I just can't get over that "Can I really get away with this?" look he has on his face. Its like a bunch of ignorant people around him tossed out this jewel of an idea and he is running with it to see if he can actually get away with it.
Hilarious.
Thank you Nova Nova. This is just an example of schmuckish behavior. If you really had the interests of Haiti in mind and not your own Ego.. you would follow the rules and back a respectable candidate for presidency.
novanova:
I agree that he should follow the rules. However, Haiti could and has had a lot worse choices that Wyclef for pres.
Haiti is in no position to be headed by someone who is just "not the worse choice" at this point in time. Those people need the best choice.
Snob, I would really be interested to get your view on Wyclef . I think his ego is enormous and he would be a terrible president. I think he always knew he couldn't be placed on the list to run but thought he could get over because of his fame. Can someone explain to me why you would announce you are going into hiding because of death threats? This is great publicity for his crappy music. If he is really serious he would do the necessary work to become qualified to run for president. I doubt he will. He probably pulled this stunt because he will have an album coming out soon.
@ cosmicsistren
I actually go back and forth between him being a kind of clueless optimist who really wants to help Haiti and an egomaniac. This latest incident has me leaning towards egomaniac with a touch of megalomania.
I want to believe his heart is in the right place, but ... I dunno. He kind of has an interesting (re: shady) reputation when it comes to money and women. I don't know if he has the fortitude to keep it on the straight and narrow if he were president of a country. And Haiti really NEEDS a leader who would be on the up and up and prepared for the difficult task of getting them out of permanent crisis mode.