Akhir 05 , 1432 H. / March 10, 2011 -- Ousted ex-Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide will return home within days following seven years in exile, a South African official said Friday, threatening to plunge this month's election into chaos, according to AP. Haitian and U.S. officials have warned that Aristide's presence could disturb the March 20 vote. Three weeks ago, thousands of Aristide supporters protested in the Haitian capital, vowing to disrupt the election if he is not returned home. A South African Foreign Ministry official told The Associated Press on Friday that Aristide will return in the coming days. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to make the official announcement. Aristide emerged as a leading voice for Haiti's poor and became the troubled country's first democratically elected president, despite opposition from the army, Haiti's elite and the United States following the 29-year Duvalier family dictatorship. But Aristide was toppled twice from power, his second term ending in 2004 amid a violent rebellion. He left the country aboard a U.S. plane. Aristide and his supporters insist he was kidnapped. U.S. officials said Aristide departed at his own request. Speculation that Aristide might come back soared after notorious ex-dictator Jean-Claude «Baby Doc» Duvalier made a surprise return in January after nearly 25 years of exile in France. -- SPA
