**Police in Haiti’s capital have fired tear gas as more than 1,000 protesters rallied to call for President Rene Preval to step down.**The protest was called in Port-au-Prince by opposition groups angry at what they say is Mr Preval’s plan to stay beyond his term.
There are concerns elections may not be held before the due date because of records lost in January’s earthquake.
The quake killed up to 230,000 people and left one million homeless.
Pro-Aristide
The country is scheduled to hold elections before February 2011 but the BBC’s Nick Davis in Port-au-Prince says some are concerned that the president, who has just been granted 96 more days in office by parliament because of the emergency, is holding on to power.
Many electoral records were lost in the quake and many civil servants were killed but opponents say it is still unconstitutional to delay the poll.
Our correspondent says the scenes at the protest were initially more party-like as protesters from every section of society arrived to call for the president to step down.
But the situation grew more tense as protesters became angry with the police.
Some demonstrators called for the return of exiled former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
One protester, Herve Santilus, told Associated Press: “[Preval] is profiting from this disaster in order to stay in power.”
Officers eventually used tear gas and fired in the air above demonstrators, who were throwing stones.
Our correspondent says the protesters finally drifted away but promised to be back on Tuesday.
He says the mood is that of frustration with the situation in the camps and with the political process in the country.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
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