Haitians went to the polls today in the second round of presidential elections as the country struggles to rebuild following last year's devastating earthquake.
Queues were reported before dawn at many polling stations where voters were asked to chose between Senator and former first lady, Mirlande Manigat, and singer Michel Martelly.
The election, delayed for months by bickering over a contested and violence-plagued first round in November, threatened to be overshadowed by the return from exile of charismatic ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Mr Aristide, 57, who rose as a champion of the poor to become Haiti's first democratically elected president, has stopped short of backing a particular candidate, which could potentially alter the outcome of the race.
UN monitors said turnout looked likely to exceed paltry numbers in the first round when only 23% of 4.7m eligible Haitians cast ballots.
Polls were scheduled to close at 4pm (9pm Irish time), with preliminary results to be announced on 31 March 31 and final ones on 16 April.
Wyclef Jean grazed by a bullet
Haitian-born rapper Wyclef Jean was grazed by a bullet in the hand on the eve of his country's historic presidential election, but did not see it as a political attack.
‘We got a graze by a bullet. We don't blame it on anyone, a lot of people (were) saying, 'Do I blame it on the opposition' or whatever? No,’ said Wyclef as he went to cast his ballot in today’s poll.
Police are investigating the incident, but have no suspects any suspects yet for the alleged shooting.
Wyclef, 41, a Haitian-American who rose to fame as a member of the Fugees, had his own bid for the presidency scuttled, but he has been a strong backer of Michel Martelly.
