Wyclef Jean will run for Haitian presidency

International hip hop star Wyclef Jean confirmed on a Miami radio station Thursday (Aug 5) that he plans to run for the presidency of Haiti.

Why? The Jan. 12 earthquake.

"For the 250,000 people who died in the earthquake, that's the reason we ought to see a change in the system,'' Jean says in Haitian Creole on Radio Tropic's 8 a.m. show `"Bonjour Haiti.''

In the radio interview -- streamed online for listeners in Haiti and elsewhere -- Jean announced his slogan "Face to Face'' for his youth-oriented movement.

Jean must file paperwork with the electoral office by Saturday at midnight. And he must prove to the electoral council that he holds only Haitian citizenship, has lived in Haiti for five consecutive years and owns land in Haiti.


That could be sticky. He  was born in a Port-au-Prince suburb, left the country when he was 9 and grew up in New York and New Jersey.

Jean is scheduled to formally announce his intentions Thursday evening on CNN's "Larry King Live.''

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