Wyclef Jean Barred From Presidential Run

Singer turned away for not having lived in Haiti past 5 years
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 21, 2010 5:47 AM CDT
Wyclef Jean Barred From Presidential Run
Haiti presidential candidate and hip hop singer Wyclef Jean, accompanied by his mother-in-law, right, and another relative speaks in his mother's house, Haiti, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010.   (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Haiti's electoral commission approved a whopping 19 candidates yesterday, then rejected 15—including Wyclef Jean over the hip-hop artist's failure to have lived in Haiti for the past five years. The would-be candidate later issued a statement asking supporters to respond "peacefully and responsibly to the disappointment," reports the AP.

"Though I disagree with the ruling, I respectfully accept the committee's final decision, and I urge my supporters to do the same," Jean said. The commission also rejected US Ambassador Raymond Joseph—also known as Jean's uncle—making the leading contenders former PMs Jacques-Edouard Alexis and Yvon Neptune. (More Wyclef Jean stories.)

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