Port-Au-Prince: Tension rose in Haiti on Monday as protesters set up burning barricades after it became clear that frontrunner Rene Preval failed to get the 50 per cent needed to be elected president.
"The situation is very unstable," a senior UN official said. "There are troubles almost everywhere."
The protests started as soon as authorities announced near-complete results showing the election would go to a second round.
Businesses in the Haitian capital shuttered their doors and people sought refuge in police stations as angry mobs took to the streets, burning tires, blocking major avenues with car wrecks and demanding that Preval be declared president.
Similar protests turned into deadly riots two years ago, when Jean Bertrand Aristide, Haiti's last elected president, resigned and fled the country.
Haiti has been rocked by turmoil since, but the violence eased shortly before the February 7 elections.
A growing number of protesters poured into the streets of the capital on Monday morning, and one group marched to the electoral council's office chanting "Preval president."
The 9,500-strong UN military and police force was on high alert amid concern there could be violence if Preval is not declared president immediately.
The protesters rejected results showing Preval had 48.7 per cent of the vote in a count of almost 90 per cent of the ballots. It was not immediately clear when the final outcome of the February vote would be announced.
Despite a huge lead over his rivals, Preval, 63, a former president and a champion of the poor, was short of the majority needed to win outright.
Protesters and at least one of the candidates claimed irregularities in the vote count.
"I am ready to accept Mr Preval's victory if it is proved that the vote was manipulated," said Jean Chavannes Jeune, who placed fourth with five per cent of the vote.
But he added that he would support Preval if there is a second round.
There was no immediate announcement from Preval, but UN officials said he was heading to the capital, from his hometown of Marmelade on Monday morning.
If the balloting does indeed go to a runoff, scheduled for March 19, Preval would compete against Leslie Manigat, 75, also a former president, who had 11.8 percent in the partial results.
Authorities appealed for calm and urged Haitians to respect the outcome of the elections when it is finally announced.
Preval was president from 1996 to 2001. A former ally of Aristide, he served as prime minister in his government in 1991, but his aides say the two men are no longer in contact.
Like Aristide before him, Preval enjoys strong support from impoverished Haitian's who make up 77 per cent of the 8.5 million population.
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