February 13, 2006 6:00 p.m. EST
Matthew Borghese - All Headline News Staff Writer
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (AHN) - Witnesses say that United Nations (UN) peacekeepers opened fire on protesters in the wake of Haitian elections; killing at least one person and injuring more.
The elections, held Tuesday (Feb 7), may need a subsequent run-off vote. With over 90 percent of the ballots counted, the front runner, Rene Preval, holds only 48.7 percent of the vote, short of the 50 percent needed to win outright.
Preval's supporters have blockaded parts of the capital, and are demanding he be declared the victor, without another election.
It was in the capital that witnesses say UN troops opened fire on the crowd, while UN officials deny such allegations, saying that its forces "fired into the air" to disperse the riot.
Preval, an ally of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, currently leads the field of more than 30 presidential candidates.
The Haitian elections are for a 129-member parliament as well as a new president.