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Vote counting under way in HaitiFour killed during elections
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSGONAIVES, Haiti (CNN) -- Election workers in Haiti on Wednesday counted votes that will determine the new president and parliament of the impoverished Caribbean nation. The relatively peaceful elections drew a large turnout as well as praise from the U.N. secretary-general, who called the vote "a significant step forward. "I am pleased that, compared to previous elections, yesterday was remarkably free from violence and I applaud the Haitian people for their commitment to restore democracy," Kofi Annan said in a statement issued Wednesday. Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the Organization of American States, praised "the attitude of the Haitian people," saying, "The Haitians went to vote, they wanted to vote, and they voted massively -- and I must say, at some moments, very patiently." (Read more about how election day went) Four people died in election-related incidents, U.N. officials said. In one incident a police officer shot into a crowd and killed a person. The crowd retaliated and lynched the officer. Two other people died in crowd crushes. To accommodate throngs of voters, polling stations stayed open past their closing time. Some voters complained that they were unable to cast their ballots, because poll workers had torn off stickers used to identify their designated polling stations, Reuters reported. "I went in the first line and they took it off. Then I went to a second line, and they told me I could not vote because I didn't have it. This is not fair," Reuters quoted Gertha Estira, who arrived at a voting center at 8 a.m. and had not yet voted six hours later. The election was the first since a violent rebellion forced elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide into exile two years ago. Polls have shown that Rene Preval, a former Haitian president, leads 33 presidential candidates. (Descriptions of leading contenders) Annan called on all parties and voters to respect the results, once they are finalized. "It will be essential that all political and social actors come together in a spirit of national reconciliation and dialogue in order to build strong democratic institutions and an inclusive governance system," Annan said. He recommended that Minustah, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti, "be continued in its present configuration for another six months while a post-electoral mission strategy is worked out." (Election challenges) Freelance reporter Amy Bracken contributed to this report. Reuters contributed to this report. 
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