Awwal 15, 1432 H/April 19, 2011, SPA -- Michel Martelly, who won last month's presidential election in Haiti according to preliminary official results, on Tuesday began a three-day visit to Washington, dpa reported. Martelly is to meet with US government officials, including US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and with top representatives of international financial institutions, including International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Martelly's team said the goal of the visit is to "send a clear message that the country wants to divorce the past and open its gates to a better form of cooperation." Definitive final results of the March 20 presidential runoff election are expected to be released Wednesday after being delayed over the weekend. If preliminary official results are confirmed, Martelly will succeed outgoing Haitian President Rene Preval on May 14. The international community is key to Haiti's efforts to recover from the devastating quake of January 12, 2010, which killed at least 220,000 people.
