American to Appeal Haiti Ruling

A wealthy U.S. businessman whose bid to run for president of Haiti was rejected by electoral authorities pledged Saturday to fight for a spot on the ballot in his native country’s first election since the ouster of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004.

Dumarsais Simeus, who has one of the largest black-owned businesses in the United States, said he had appealed to the Provisional Electoral Council to reverse its decision to strike his name from the list of presidential candidates in the Nov. 20 election. He said he would do “everything possible,” including filing a legal challenge, to participate.

“This election, without us being allowed to participate as a presidential candidate, will have no legitimacy whatsoever,” Simeus, the son of Haitian rice farmers, said at a news conference in the capital.

The electoral council late Friday issued a list of 32 approved candidates -- a diverse group that includes former government officials from across the political spectrum and a leader of the rebellion that forced Aristide from office and into exile.

Simeus, 65, whose food services company is based in Texas, was rejected because he has U.S. citizenship, said Rosemond Pradel, the council’s secretary-general.