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Artist News
Jean responds to presidential rejection in song
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 27 August 2010
Wyclef Jean has responded to the decision not to allow him to stand as a candidate in the Haitian presidential election in song, after it was announced that he would not be able to appeal the decision to block him from standing, along with fourteen other hopeful candidates.
As previously reported, Jean’s plans to stand needed court approval because the former Fugee does not pass requirements in the country’s constitution regarding presidential candidates, mainly regarding citizenship and being resident in Haiti for five years before running.
According to the BBC, the lyrics of the song, performed in Creole, the official language of Haiti, include the line: “It’s not Wyclef that you have expelled, it is the youth you have denied”.
He also seems to claim that outgoing president Rene Preval personally blocked Jean’s application to stand in the election, saying: “I know all the cards are in your hands. I voted for you to be president in 2006, why today did you reject my candidacy?”
You can download the song here: wyclefjean.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/wyclef-jean-prizon-pou-k-e-p-a.mp3
