By Joseph Guyler Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Most Haitians refer to popular singer and presidential contender Michel Martelly as simply "Mickey". His rival in a March 20 run-off election, respected former first lady Mirlande Manigat, is granted the more formal sobriquet of "Madame Manigat".
The contrast between the brash entertainer and the soft-spoken opposition matriarch means the final stage of what has been a tumultuous presidential campaign in the Western Hemisphere's poorest state will be as much about competing personalities and style as policy proposals.
Although two decades separate 70-year-old grandmother Manigat from her younger rival, both are seen by analysts as right-of-centre candidates who share many similar views on how to put the earthquake- and cholera-ravaged Caribbean nation on the path of recovery.
Here are some of the things that separate, and unite, the candidates vying for Haiti's presidency more than a year after a devastating January 2010 earthquake:
EXPERIENCE, OR CHANGE?
The debate over experience is what most divides the two candidates, who were eventually declared the two front-runners from a chaotic, inconclusive November 28 first round vote that was fraught with vote-rigging allegations and unrest.
Manigat was the top first round vote-getter, but did not gain enough to win outright. She would be Haiti's first elected female president if she wins the run-off on Sunday.
Martelly, 50, is a political neophyte who was propelled into the run-off by a revision of the vote tally from the first round. He says he offers the fresh start that Haiti needs.
"Sweet Mickey", as he is widely known, says the post-quake recovery requires an energetic, courageous leader who can make a clean break with the bad habits of corruption, mismanagement and violence that have plagued Haiti's government for decades. The symbol of his Repons Peyizan party is a muscular bull.
A star of Haiti's catchy Kompa dance music, the charismatic shaven-headed Martelly projects himself as a "man of the people" in tune with a popular clamour for jobs, affordable food, clean water and housing, healthcare and education.
"In this election, you have a choice to make: a choice between a new way of thinking, a new breath and a new team, and a system that has been in place for 30 years," he said in a recent televised debate with Manigat.
She became a senator and first lady in 1988, when her husband Leslie Manigat won the presidency. Both were forced into exile by a coup soon after. Manigat stresses her Sorbonne education and expertise in constitutional law, which she contrasts with Martelly's glitzy showbiz background.
"You don't lead a country with your feet. You lead a country with your head and your heart," she says, in reply to critics' suggestions that she may be too old to spur Haiti into tackling its huge developmental challenges, a cholera epidemic and the task of rebuilding after the 2010 earthquake.
Manigat, who wears her silvery hair in a bun, has echoed questions about whether her rival has the gravitas to be president. His more outlandish antics as an entertainer have included donning diapers, wigs and even stripping in public.
Outside formal events where he wears suit and tie, he often leads his supporters in rallies and marches in the streets. He has an enthusiastic youth following, boosted by support from fellow musician and Haitian-American hip-hop star Wyclef Jean.
RECONSTRUCTION, AID AND DEVELOPMENT
Both candidates agree that Haiti needs significant foreign aid as well as local and foreign investment to rebuild its capital, revive the economy and house hundreds of thousands of homeless quake survivors. They also argue for decentralization so that funds can be more equally spread across the country.
Martelly and Manigat have faulted delays in post-quake recovery efforts, specifically by the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) co-chaired by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.
"The commission can play a great role, but we have realized there is slowness and there is some disorder," Martelly said.
He and Manigat say Haitian interests risk being put aside in a rebuilding process where donors have such a big role, and that Haiti must shake off its long dependency on foreign aid.
Martelly advocates investment in tourism, while Manigat has education as a centerpiece of her platform and both call for modernization in agriculture, along with updated land records.
SECURITY, U.N. PEACEKEEPING
While the presence of a more than 12,000-strong U.N. force in Haiti is a sensitive subject -- critics talk of "occupation" and accuse U.N. peacekeepers of bringing cholera to Haiti -- neither of them is pressing for an immediate withdrawal.
Manigat says there would be serious security problems if the U.N. force had to leave now, although she adds there should be a plan for a progressive departure of the blue helmets, and their replacement by a Haitian security force.
Martelly goes further in saying that Haiti needs to have its own army, meaning the restoration of an institution disbanded in the mid-1990s by then President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, previously ousted in a military coup.
The subject is controversial as many remember the army as an abusive ally of past dictators and of a wealthy political and business elite. Aristide says he intends to return from exile, increasing worries about instability.
Manigat and Martelly say they want to closely involve the Haitian diaspora in the country's reconstruction, with Manigat advocating a constitutional change that would allow exiles to have double nationality, vote and hold political office.
(Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Kieran Murray)
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