HAITI IS WAITING

A tense yet quiet calm prevailed over Port-au-Prince on Wednesday as the country braced for final results from its November presidential elections.

Haitians left work early and stayed close to home out of fear they could see a repeat of the unrest on Dec. 7 when preliminary election results were announced.

Those results showed the top presidential vote-getters to be former first lady Mirlande Manigat and government-backed candidate Jude Celestin. Popular musician Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly did not make the runoff. Martelly's supporters took to the streets in protest, arguing that he should be included.

In anticipation of unrest, banks and other businesses closed early Wednesday to allow employees time to get home, and supermarkets saw shoppers stock up on water and food in the event that the capital should shut down.

"For me, I'm staying close to home, staying out of the street," said Pierre-William Altidor, 37, a cab driver. "I don't want any problems."

The day was fueled with rumors and nervous energy as Haitians waited to find out who would get a chance to replace President Rene Preval.

The months-long question has shrouded Haiti in political uncertainty, and has made the country the focus of diplomatic wrangling and pressure by the international community, including the United States.

Last month, the United State's top diplomat to the United Nations warned a quake-battered Haiti that it could lose valuable international aid if it failed to accept the recommendations of a controversial Organization of American States report.

An OAS team was assembled to review tallies and make recommendations after allegations of massive voter fraud surfaced after the November election.

The OAS report suggested that the elections could be salvaged with an improved second round and recommended that Martelly, not Celestin, go into the runoff. In the preliminary results, Celestin was listed as the second-place finisher and Martelly third.

But after the OAS team reviewed 919 of 11,000 tally sheets, it recommended that 234 tally sheets be excluded as being irregular or fraudulent, which put a .3 percentage point or 3,225-vote difference between Martelly and Celestin.

Preval and Celestin have disputed the report, questioning its methodology and citing examples where votes were not counted on behalf of the candidate at the vote tabulation center. Last week, Celestin's lawyers challenged the report and his standing before a tribunal of elections experts.

While some hope Wednesday's announcement will eventually provide some clarity to the crisis, others debated whether it will resolve the political uncertainty. "It is not clear that a second round will bring stability to Haiti, let alone legitimacy to the new president," said Robert Fatton, a Haiti expert at the University of Virginia, who has closely followed the crisis.

"The controversial first round as well as the patterns of foreign interference have left many sectors disenchanted with the process," he said. "In addition, whoever is elected will have to deal with an unruly parliament and prime minister. So this is a first and small step toward the creation of a new government, but it may well be a detour to a new crisis."

Meanwhile as the country waited late Wednesday for an announcement, peacekeeping troops with the United Nations guarded an election office on the Delmas thoroughfare in several armored carriers. Helicopters hovered above the capital city throughout the day.

The pending results were the talk of Port-au-Prince Wednesday night as radio commentators mulled over how the different scenarios could play out.

Nelcius Jean, a 34-year-old father of three, also wondered what the announcement would say and its ramifications: What happens to Haiti if Manigat and Martelly don't make the runoff?

"The country falls apart," said Jean, who voted for Manigat. "The people won't accept a second round with Jude Celestin and Mirlande Manigat. They will think the election was stolen."

A picture from Emily Troutman an AOL news contributor. The press got really tired waiting.