Manigat and Martelly in run-off presidential election

Haiti's former first lady Mirlande Manigat and singer Michel Martely will face each other in the second round of voting in the country's general election on 20 March. The results from the first round mean that ruling party candidate Jude Celestin did not make it through to the delayed run-off. 

Reuters/Eduardo Munoz

Official results from the 28 November poll were expected on Wednesday, but were held back for a day. Preliminary results released in December sparked several days of riots and unrest which left five dead in cities around the country.

Following the announcement of the results, international security forces were braced for possible unrest with supporters of Celestin dissastified that he would not be in the run-off after initially placing second in the disputed November election.

Monitors from the Organisation of American States found enough evidence of rigging in Celestin's favour to recommend the results be changed to allow Martelly to run against the 70-year-old Manigat.

The tension over the inconclusive election has been further heightened by the sudden reappearance last month in Haiti of former president Jean Claude Duvalier and rumours that his successor, former president Jean -Bertrand Aristide was also looking at a return to his homeland after almost seven years in exile in South Africa.

Haiti, is still reeling from a 2010 earthquake that killed more than 220,000 people and a raging cholera epidemic that has infected more than 200,000 people and killed around 4,000