Sweet Mickey – the other Haitian singer who wants to become President

Late last Friday, the electoral commission finally the delivered the news that everybody was expecting: Wyclef Jean, the presidential front-runner, would not be participating in the November election because he had not fulfilled the constitutional requirement of living in Haiti for the last five years. Wyclef’s supporters have behaved rather well since the disappointing announcement, but they are not expected to give up the fight to get their candidate back on the list.

In fact, it turns out that Haitians seem to be particularly fond of supporting politicians who are barred from running for office.

Graffiti reads "Have a good trip home Jean-Claude Duvalier"

“The old support the Duvalier regimes and the young support Aristide” said my driver yesterday in a matter-of-fact voice.  Though this is a bit of a simplification, it is true that these figures still loom large over politics today. But of course nobody can cast a ballot in their favour.

The result seems to be that the vast majority simply don’t vote. Time and time again Tania and I have asked our Haitian friends and colleagues whether they are planning to vote. It’s as if we’re challenging them to walk to the other side of the island – they give you a perplexed and painful look. Jean-Pierre, a supervisor for the Cash-for-Work program at Tania's NGO said, “I’ve never voted because it may be dangerous to vote. Also, why would I stay outside in long lines under the sun?” Others we talked to just conclude that their vote makes no difference, whether it be because the election could be rigged, or because all presidents do the same thing: push the country further back in time.

Though Haitians will continue to pine for past dictators and disqualified hip-hop artists, they are now also beginning to look through 19 candidates who they will actually have the chance to elect. The most entertaining figure of this bunch is undoubtedly the other singer-turned-politician, Michael Martely, better known as “Sweet Mickey”.

Martely is considered a pioneer of Haitian kompa music, which began as a fusion of Afrolatin Jazz and African folklore rhythms. Apparently, his performances were full of obscenities and social political satire which used to cause quite a stir. His career began with the hit single “Pa Manyen” (Don’t Touch) in 1989 (see video) and he went on to churn out a new album almost every year during the 90s. Running out of steam, he settled to Florida in 2006 with his wife and their four children. It’s still not very clear why he wasn't restricted by the residency requirement that ousted Wyclef. It seems like the Hip Hop Fugee-Gangster was outmaouvered by the self proclaimed “Bad Boy President of Kompas.”

Nobody really thinks he has a chance at the presidency, but for the millions of Haitians who have nothing good to say about politics, at least “President Sweet Mickey” might give them something to smile about.... temporarily.