Haiti's exiled expresident Jean-Bertrand Aristide plans to fly home today, days before the Caribbean nation's crucial election, a senior South African official said.
"The president is due to take a flight out Thursday afternoon," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that Aristide was expected to give a news briefing before his departure.
"The details of the route will be given at the briefing," the official added.
The charismatic Aristide, Haiti's first democratically elected president, has been exiled in South Africa since being forced from power by an armed rebellion more than seven years ago.
The United States has urged Aristide not to return to Haiti before Sunday's presidential run-off election.
"Former president Aristide has chosen to remain outside of Haiti for seven years. To return this week can only be seen as a conscious choice to impact Haiti's electoral process," U.S. embassy spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said.
Aristide's U.S. lawyer, Ira Kurzban, said that the former leader feared a new Haitian government might try to block his return if he waited until after the polls.
"He is genuinely concerned that a change in the Haitian government may result in his remaining in South Africa," Kurzban said.
The election pits a popular singer against a former first lady in a tight contest to succeed President René Préval.
November's first-round election was marred by violence and fraud and the shattered country is still struggling to rebuild after a devastating earthquake 14 months ago that killed some 250,000 people.
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