A vote for misrule

THE swearing-in of Willo Joseph as mayor of the dusty little town of Maissade, up in Haiti's central plateau, on July 12th was not a popular affair. According to some reports, it was disrupted by protesters from the Space for Concord party, who claimed that fraud had robbed their candidate, Rafael Caroll, of his rightful victory. Mr Caroll says that scarcely anybody showed up to watch Mr Joseph's big moment, so the mayor-elect and his Lavalas Family party supporters were miffed. Either way, there were scuffles among those who did turn up. That night, Mr Caroll and four other members of his party were arrested and taken to the jail in the provincial capital, Hinche. Their houses were ransacked. Some display the scars of beatings received, they claim, from the police and Lavalas supporters.