Businessman Jovenel Moïse wins Haiti's presidential election

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council said Jovenel Moïse, a businessman, has been chosen as president of the island country after a first-round election.

Moïse received 595,430 votes -- 55.67 percent of the total -- in the Nov. 20 elections, the electoral council, known as CEP, said. His main challenger, Jude Celestin, received 208,837 votes, or 19.52 percent of the total. More than 1 million valid votes were cast.

"The Haitian people have made their choice and elected me as early as the first round," Moïse said in a statement. "Now, in the spirit of gathering, I invite you, dear countrymen, to borrow with me the way of endogenous development for a Haiti at the height of its historical performance and its legitimate ambitions."

The election comes more than a year after Moïse won another election that was annulled after violent unrest following allegations of widespread voter fraud. Haiti has struggled with political instability and poverty for decades.

A magnitude-7 earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 killed up to 316,000 people and initially displaced 1.5 million people. Tens of thousands of Haitians remain living in temporary shelters following the earthquake.