MIAMI, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- A campaign debate among Haiti's presidential hopefuls in Miami drew only three of the 19 candidates vying to lead the poor Caribbean island nation.
The so-called "Presidential Debate of the Diaspora" took place at Florida International University's Biscayne Bay campus before an audience of several hundred Sunday night, The Miami Herald reported.
Of the 19 candidates in the Nov. 28 election, only three showed up: Mirlande Manigat, Garaudy Laguerre and Gerard Blot. Charles Henri Baker tried to participate by an Internet telephone connection but was stymied by technical difficulties.
Candidates addressed reconstruction after the earthquake and the cholera outbreak.
Laguerre said he would investigate the source of the epidemic. He said there were rumors that United Nations soldiers were the source of the contamination of Haiti's water supply.
"Too often, Haitians die without reasons and without consequences," he said. "This time there will be consequences."
Blot also called for investigating the source of the outbreak and holding accountable whoever is responsible.
Manigat said her top priority would be to house those still living in tent encampments, but cautioned the audience the housing problem cannot be solved immediately.
