HAITI: Michel Martelly

Michel Martelly, a performer with the stage name Sweet Micky, is a candidate in the March 20, 2011 runoff election to become Haiti’s next president. He will face Mirlande H. Manigat, a former first lady and college administrator who was the top vote getter in the Nov. 28, 2010 election.

The Nov. 28 election, marred by fraud and incompetence, was just the beginning of an opaque process that has included delayed results, contentious protests by Mr. Martelly’s supporters, a review by international observers, and finally a reversal by election officials that put Mr. Martelly in the runoff by discarding a government-backed candidate.

Mr. Martelly, 49, is one of Haiti’s most popular singers and performers, perhaps best known for his raunchy Carnival act. He cast himself, after the Haitian-born hip-hop star Wyclef Jean was denied permission to run, as just the outsider Haiti needed, punctuating his campaign appearances with songs.

At the same time, he has met repeatedly with diplomats and business executives to persuade them to take him seriously. He dispensed with his stage name, took to wearing designer suits and surrounded himself with a circle of international political consultants who had worked for President Felipe Calderón of Mexico, among others.

Political analysts said the election might turn on personalities more than positions; both candidates are considered relative conservatives, particularly on law-and-order concerns. Mr. Martelly has suggested reinstating the disbanded Haitian military, partly to address chronic unemployment, while Ms. Manigat has called for bolstering the national police to tamp down crime.

“I don’t know that there is a significant difference between them,” said Alex Dupuy, a Wesleyan University sociologist who studies Haiti.

Whatever proposals they may have — Ms. Manigat has suggested remaking the education system, while Mr. Martelly has talked about revamping the agriculture sector — must pass muster with the international donors that prop up the country’s budget, he said.

Neither one is going to be able to “set the priority for economic policy,” Dr. Dupuy said. “That is set by the donors, major financial institutions and the interim recovery commission” guiding the rebuilding plans.

Ms. Manigat and Mr. Martelly have both promised to make Haiti less dependent on foreign governments and the hundreds of nongovernmental organizations that form the backbone of social services and operate essentially as a shadow government.