Top finisher in Haiti vote complains about fraud claims

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The leading candidate in the disputed first round of Haiti's presidential vote says critics aren't providing evidence to back up their allegations of "massive fraud."

Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council says Jovenel Moise received 33 percent of the vote. The government-backed candidate received 117,602 votes more than second-place finisher Jude Celestin.

Moise asserted Monday that people have been making baseless accusations of electoral fraud. He says there were problems with the first round, "but you can't discredit the whole process."

Celestin and seven other candidates have formed an alliance and assert that the vote and ballot-count were far too problematic to be legitimate.

They are calling for a transitional government to oversee new elections unless changes are made before a scheduled Dec. 27 runoff.