UPDATE: Polls close in Haiti elections

August 10, 2015 in Regional
A man looks at the rolls a polling station during the Legislative Elections in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.(Photo: AFP)

A man looks at the rolls a polling station during the Legislative Elections in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.(Photo: AFP)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — Most polling stations closed in Haiti Sunday, after a day of voting in long-postponed legislative elections marred by sporadic clashes, delays and disorder.

Voting officially ended across the Caribbean nation, the poorest country in the Americas, at 4:00 pm (2000 GMT), but some polling stations were to remain open later due to morning delays.

Local and international election observers reported low turnout, and police said some 26 polling stations were closed by midday due to sporadic disturbances.

At least three voting centers in Port-au-Prince were ransacked, according to an AFP reporter.

There were also reports that three polling stations had been torched in the central Savanette department, according to the head of the Fusion party, Edmonde Supplice Beauzile.

These are the first elections in Haiti since President Michel Martelly took power in 2011, and the vote faced several delays because of political wrangling and financial constraints.