The next Haitian president will manage billions of aid dollars that will go to rebuilding Haiti, which is still recovering from the Jan. 12 earthquake that killed 300,000 people and leveled much of its capital city in Port-au-Prince.

These very factors contributed to a climate where voters could consider electing an outsider like Jean, said Haiti expert Robert Fatton Jr., of the University of Virginia.

“The very fact that he is taken seriously when, in fact, he has no preparation to be president is an indication that the whole country, in particular the youth, looks at the typical Haitian population as a bankrupt kind of species,” Fatton said.

Jean was among 15 candidates who were rejected by the commission. Nineteen were approved to run in the upcoming election, including former prime ministers Jacques-Edouard Alexis and Yvon Neptune.

Mark Jones & Robert Fatton: Back away from that torpedo. If Haiti elects inept & corrupt top officials who carry on the tradition of raping the country, it will continue down the spiral of poverty & destruction. Yes, Haiti probably needs an outsider(s). But it’s not someone who offers no high office experience. Pictures of Jean and his posse flashing GANGSTA signs while bending the election rules aren’t the answer. It is a glimpse of things to come should they fondle “billions” in relief money.