Brain Top Off!

Wyclef Jean has decided to run for president of Haiti now. Jean, the Grammy-winning former frontman of the Fugees, said he feels it is his calling to lead his native land out of the despair caused by the earthquake in Haiti last January. Jean’s running within the election is going to be interesting considering it is one of one of the most essential elections Haiti will ever have. There is no political experience coming from Jean which concerns a lot of people. Whether he will qualify to run is also in question, because he left Haiti at age 9 and grew up in New York and New Jersey.

Wyclef Jean hopes to be president of Haiti

Thursday, Wyclef Jean announced on a Miami radio station that he prepared to run for president. Jean told the Miami Herald of his plans to become president after stepping down as chairman of the Yélé Haiti Foundation that he started. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that $ 9.1 million for Haiti earthquake relief was raised by the Yélé foundation. This devastating earthquake on January 12 was big enough to get a 7.0 magnitude rating while Jean responded almost first to the capital city, Port au Prince.

Haiti earthquake compels Jean to run

Wyclef Jean described his candidacy for Haitian president as a calling. He told the New York Times:

“I’m not running for president so much as I’m being drafted. The youth, in their mind, if I don’t come and put a perspective to things, they feel there’s no future for the country, and I have to agree with them.”

Jean was going to, according to the Times, announce his candidacy on “Larry King Live” after registering with the elections board in Haiti on Thursday. Candidates for the Haitian presidency must be citizens with five or more years of residency in Haiti. Both needs are met by Jean despite the fact that he hasn’t lived there since he was a child. He has a Haitian passport after being born in Croix des Bouquets.

Jean compares himself to be just like Havel and Reagan

Vaclav Havel and Ronald Reagan are people that Jean talks about when referring to his transition, reports Time magazine who talked to NPR. Before Reagan and Havel got elected, they got a lot of experience which is in contrast to Jean. A musician that succeeded in politics quite a bit was former Midnight Oil frontman who became Australia’s environment minister, Peter Garrett. The Dave Rowntree, Blur drummer, tried to get into British parliament this year but lost along with all of the Labour party.

Jean’s Haiti in poor condition

Wyclef Jean wants to enter a presidential race, slated for Nov. 28, that the Miami Herald said could arguably be Haiti’s most significant vote in two decades. The winner will face the challenge of leading reconstruction efforts within the wake of the massive earthquake that claimed an estimated 300,000 lives. More than six months later, 1.6 million people nevertheless live in makeshift camps throughout the capital and in cities to the south.

More on this topic

Miami Herald

miamiherald.com/2010/08/05/1762628/its-official-wyclef-jean-to-run.html

New York Times

nytimes.com/2010/08/05/world/americas/05haiti.html?_r=1

NPR

npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128996915

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