Wyclef Jean's Bid For Haiti Presidency In Jeopardy, Goes Into Hiding After Death Threats

NEWS

» by Danielle Canada August 18, 2010, 10:18am

Wyclef Jean's campaign to become President of his embattled country may be soon over now that reports have surfaced that he's been barred from the election because of his residency status.

As previously reported, Jean announced that he planned on running for President of Haiti in early August despite criticism from actor and philanthropist Sean Penn and his former Fugee bandmate Pras.

Now however Wyclef's vie for Presidency is in question because of his residence in homeland.

According to Haitian activist organization “AFaceAFace”, Clef has been barred from the election confirming reports that Clef's U.S. citizen status is keeping him from running.

The Haitian constitution requires that candidates for President must have lived in the country for five consecutive years prior to an election but he's argued that his appointment as a “roving ambassador” for Haiti in 2007 exempts him from the residency requirement.

BBC reports that Haiti's electoral commission has delayed until Friday its final decision on who it will allow to run in November's presidential election.

In related news, his ex-bandmate Pras gave an interview with Vulture, saying that he does not support his bid for President because he's disconnected from Haiti, mentioning that he doesn't even speak his country's native language of French.

“Wyclef, he doesn't speak the language of the country! He doesn't speak French at all, and his Creole is similar to Jackie Chan's English — no disrespect to Jackie Chan. How are you gonna be an effective leader, how are you gonna be inspiring the youth, if you're telling them to forget French, forget Creole, speak English? That's in their blood, that's 200 years of culture. It'd be like Obama coming in and telling people to speak Cantonese.”

Pras also says he doesn't mind that he and Clef are “no longer cool” because he'd rather lose him if it means saving his people in the process.

“First of all, I love Wyclef to death. I was one of his best men along with his brother at his wedding... But we were cool until I saw that he was running…I would rather lose Wyclef as a friend, brother, and save a nation of 10 million Haitians.”

Wyclef has also confirmed that he's gone into hiding with his family in a "secret location" after recieiving several death threats from people upset about his run for Presidency.

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